Dear Editor:

It is with a very sad heart, I am extending a huge thank you to the Osoyoos community, the families of Good Shepherd, the students, the fantastic staff, and the congregation of Grace Lutheran Church.

Good Shepherd Christian School has been a part of the community since 1990. During those 25 years the support of the community has been unbelievable and I would like to thank the community for all that they did for the students throughout the years.

This included donations for a variety of fundraisers such as the annual silent auction for Mother’s Day, food donations for special events, purchases from our bake sales, attendance at our annual dinner theatre production, etc.

We always felt encouraged and blessed to have such a supportive community behind us.

Our school was blessed to have many wonderful staff members over the years. The staff members were hard-working, dedicated, and caring. And it was their love and passion for teaching and their willingness to go above and beyond in order to meet the needs of the students that made for meaningful learning experiences and academic, social, physical, artistic, and spiritual growth in our students.

Our small class sizes and our committed staff allowed for successes for some students who struggled to find success in other settings.

I would like to especially thank Patricia Pearson (Mrs. P) whose dedication to the students and their families over the years is appreciated beyond measure.

As well, I can’t thank Ruth Knippelberg (Mrs. K) enough for all her selflessness in giving of her time, energy, and expertise over the years.

Good Shepherd was the wonderful school it was because she had the love of Christ in her heart and shared it so beautifully with all.

Our support staff over the years have been amazing. I would like to thank Renee Marcotte and Sydney Fernandes for their hard work and tireless devotion to the students the past couple of years.

The students were blessed to have such dedicated and loving leaders.

I would like to thank the families of Good Shepherd for their passion, commitment, enthusiasm, and support over the years.

Good Shepherd was as wonderful as it was because of you – it simply would not have had the warm, family atmosphere without your loving input.

Like the staff, the parents were always willing to go the extra mile to make the students’ educational experience wonderful.

Thank you for all your time, donations, energy, and support of your children and the staff over the years. Your children are blessed to have families who care so deeply for them.

Over the years, Good Shepherd has touched the lives of hundreds of children. But, more importantly, the staff has been touched by them.

Each and every child that attended GSCS taught us something and blessed us in some manner.

Although many children did not come to Good Shepherd from a church background, we saw each one as a beautiful, unique, and wonderful child of God and as such was appreciated for their uniqueness and their individual skills, talents, characteristics, and challenges.

Thank you to each child that attended Good Shepherd. Please know that God is with you wherever you go and that He loves you.

A huge thank you goes out to Grace Lutheran Church, which 25 years ago made the opening of GSCS possible.

It was through their generosity in having the school operate out of their facility that GSCS was able to continue operating all these years.

I would like to thank the congregation for their prayers, donations, love, and support for GSCS over the years.

Over the 25 years of operation, parents sent their children to GSCS for a variety of reasons.

They were blessed to know that there was a choice when it came to the education of their children.  It is a huge loss that families in our community will no longer have the opportunity to have an alternative for their children’s education.

Good Shepherd was a blessing to many and many were a blessing to Good Shepherd.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I could not have worked at a better place for the last 14 years.

I will miss Good Shepherd Christian School, the families, the students, and the staff immensely.

God bless you all. I know that GSCS has provided the students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to continue on in their education successfully.

Angela Westcott, Principal

Good Shepherd Christian School

Osoyoos, B.C.