Dear Mrs. Whitelaw,

You won’t hear me say that I miss being in a high school classroom often, but yours is a special case! As a mental health and counseling teacher and a culinary teacher, you go above and beyond for your students and for that we are all so very grateful.

“She is very engaging with her students and has a personal connection with her subject which allows her to bring a different enthusiasm to the class,” junior Breann Black said.

You create a learning environment that is accepting, fun and laid back-every student’s paradise.

“She was always so positive when I came to her class which always brightened my days after coming from a stressful class,” Black said. “My B-days would feel so much longer than they already were if I were never in her class.”

You always come up with educational methods and activities that help us to not only retain information but to be engaged.

“I got lucky and ended up in her class,” junior Gavin Rojas said. “She is always very chill and very laid back. I’ve learned a lot about the human brain, ways to take care of your mental health and that it’s a necessity in life to have your health in good shape.”

Even though we’re in quarantine, you continue to make sure we are all taking care of ourselves by leaving private comments on google classroom and creating assignments about self-care.

“Mrs. Whitelaw always made my days more enjoyable,” senior Felix Krones said. “I always looked forward to going to her class and learning about mental health and counseling because she’s super passionate about it. Mrs. Whitelaw puts so much personality in her teaching and I love it!”

You’re not only dedicated to helping us achieve our goals but you’re dedicated to your own as well. While you were teaching us how to write using APA style, you were simultaneously writing APA style papers for your own class that you were taking after school hours.

“Mrs. Whitelaw showed me so much about psychology which is what I’m majoring in now,” Krones said. “She allowed me to expand my knowledge on the subject and see how much I’m truly interested in it. If I had never met her, I wouldn’t know most of the skills I know now about managing stress and anxiety. I also would not be majoring in psychology if it weren’t for her and her class.”

Thank you for all that you do for us Mrs. Whitelaw! We miss you!

With love,

Your students