It’s been a terrific year here at Right Steps Education. We just recently had our 2019 Graduation Ceremony! Although we were all teary-eyed, we are so proud of all of our little students and we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Take a look at our graduation speech below from Natasha (Natalie) Andree:
“Man, am I glad that I am wearing waterproof mascara.
About 6 years ago I walked into Right Steps to drop off our 13-month-old daughter Melina. With tears in my eyes, I was back to work – just like that. For the next week or so, my tears remained as I drive into to the office every day.
Little did I know then how much love, compassion, learning and fun was going to happen in the next 5+ years.
So, my friend recommended Right Steps and said, “You have to start with Riya, she is the best” and she sure was. Riya’s presence was comforting and sweet. I remember not long after Melina started, Riya saying “its time to use the bathroom and no more diapers” I was like “Riya, are you sure…she’s so young, not even 2”. She was so right…and off went the diapers.
Moving on to Oleyssia’s class and having her for 2 years. Melina had and still has such a sweet connection with Oleyssia. Olyessia offered advice, such as the right Russian creams that work magic on burns…offers laughter and sincerity. She also does amazing things with hair. I will never will I know how she does it so well; even when Melina was bald, she made braids and made my little girl feel special.
We moved on to Mrs. Henney’s class for a short, but very whimsical time. Unicorns, fairies and nature and the love of each one was clear. Mrs. Henney truly understands the spirit of children and kindness.
Onto Mrs. Jody’s class. The foundation of life lessons and preparation for education for the future. The structure, lessons and compassion of Mrs. Jody is distinctly displayed and evidently seen. I have full confidence based on the teachings of Mrs. Jody that Melina, along with the rest of her class, will be fully prepared for 1st grade and beyond.
Let’s also express kudos to Mr. Steve and Gena who effortlessly taught our kids to sing and dance pretty coordinated for little kids each and every year. The Mother’s Day and Holiday shows the kids did yearly were the best. Truly entertaining, very sweet and remain in our minds as the time passes. I cannot begin to imagine the amount of effort it takes to have the kids learn the songs, in both Russian and English, and dances to turn out so great. It was something I really looked forward to, and so did the kids.
Lastly, I wanted to also say a very huge thank you to Lena who took every call and left me feeling at ease, each and every time. Lena was also always there to lend a hand, offer advice and calm nerves at all time. Most of the advice would be greatly considered and accepted, except 1. The one piece of advice she offered, and I didn’t take was to have more babies. She has been trying to convince me, for the past 5 years to have another baby. I’m sorry Lena, no more babies.
And just like that, our kids are graduating kindergarten…all grown up, speaking Russian, reading English, learning healthy eating habits, and being kind, compassionate little people.
I thank all of the teachers for their tremendous efforts in helping us parents prepare our kids for the future and giving us the unbelievable sense of security every time we dropped off our kids at Right Steps. For me personally, this is priceless.
Words cannot express the gratitude I have for the amazing care, love and knowledge that we have experienced at Right Steps.
It is very bittersweet moving on to the next chapter. We will never forget our extended family at Right Steps. We hold you in our hearts forever.
Thank you. “
