Gloria, we missed you! You made a friend from England? Yes, and her name is Katy. She brought you into the classroom. The children were thrilled. She wore an English hat, a boa, and long white gloves.
Katy is famous here in Groton and at Groton Community School. She is from Sheffield, England. She wanted to bring Gloria back to school. Gloria was so excited, and we were, too.
First, everyone welcomed Gloria with a gazillion hugs. You can imagine how priceless this was for children.
Then, Katy read a book to the children, London Bus. It showed all the places Gloria had visited! She loved the Union Jack hanging in the classroom.
Katy planned a British ‘High Tea’ for the children. We asked children if they wanted to wear white gloves, like Katy. You bet they did! She poured the tea (apple juice) and served proper English biscuits.
It was a wonderful British welcome home to Gloria. Children wondered if Katy and Willow were friends. That was nice. Willow was certainly there in spirit.
Of course we wrote Katy a gigantic thank you note. It took two days because so many children wanted to draw so many pictures for Katy.
And the best part was Gloria being back home, with the children.
She was off this past weekend with an Aqua Roomer, and she’s off again this coming weekend. That’s what happens when you’re loved. That’s what happens when you listen to children without question. That’s what happens when you are a true friend to everyone. Gloria, the world could learn quite a lot from you.
Jennie
A Teacher's Reflections 
this is the perfect welcome home for gloria and i love, love the tea party as you could guess!
I knew you would love this, Beth. It’s your cup of tea (pun intended.) 😀
What a wonderful way to welcome Gloria back to the classroom.
Thanks, Dan. It was so much fun!
What a fun tie-in to Gloria’s return. I never had that much energy as a teacher, even when much younger!
This is a wonderful post. There is nothing nicer than English high tea.
This whole post made me smile. I live not far from Sheffield – they’re a friendly lot from there! And I can certainly recommend an English high tea. It looks like everyone had a great time.
Jennie this really made me cry. How wonderful to see Gloria home safe in the Aquaroom with all her friends who have missed her so much. It truly filled my heart to see everyone so very happy!
Jennie you are so correct the whole world could learn so much from Gloria, you and the Aquaroomers! I hope the Aquaroomers past present and future all carry Gloria’s values with them . Perhaps in some small way they will be able to help the world.
Well Aquaroomers I do not know Katy ( Sheffield is a long way from Berkshire ) but she looks like a lovely lady and I can say emphatically that any friend of Gloria’s is a friend of mine.
Its wonderful to see so many happy faces in the photos, it’s obvious how much Gloria is loved. The fact that she is already off on her weekend jaunts with the Aquaroomers is testament to how much she was missed.
Well you may be wondering why there is a photo of Olivia at top of this reply? Well she is coming to visit this weekend! She will be sending a report to you all next week.
love for now willow 💜💜💜💜
How nice of Katy to introduce the children to Chocolate Digestive biscuits. They are a favourite here, and I hope they were McVities! And the big London Bus book looks great too. Sheffield is 130 miles north-west of Beetley, and it’s an industrial Steel Town in Yorkshire, famous for making sharp steel implements like cutlery, also swords and daggers.
Best wishes, Pete.