West Side Elementary School second graders receive visits from ‘The Sign Fairy’
Published 3:06 pm Wednesday, May 6, 2020
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Contributed photo One of her students, Madelyne, is shown happily smiling with her sign.
Contributed photo Amy Ensor, a second grade teacher at West Side Elementary School, has been leaving signs in her students’ front lawns.
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A West Side Elementary School teacher is being dubbed “The Sign Fairy” by her daughter.
Amy Ensor, a second grade teacher at the school, earned this nickname from her daughter because she has been leaving signs on her students’ lawns since May 1. These are captioned saying she misses them. Letters and even gift cards have also been left in mailboxes.
Ensor said she got the idea from seniors receiving similar signs.
“I kind of got the idea where they’re doing it for the seniors, and I thought this would be good to do for my class,” she said. “Just to let them know I’m thinking about them and I care about them, because I really do miss them.”
Following the idea, Ensor reached out to parents and the principal of the school for permission. After this, she went to the UPS store, and began designing signs.
Ensor said she did three at first, and would continue to add signs over a period of time until all of her class has one. She has a total of 13 students. Signs are $12 each, which she has paid out of her own pocket.
She said students have been happy by the surprises.
“They’ve been pretty excited, just kind of shocked I guess that they would get something from the teacher they can share with their family, and tell people to drive by and see,” said Ensor.
To give her students the signs, Ensor mapped out addresses. She said this is almost like a game for students waiting to see when they will get theirs. She hopes this is encouraging.
“I think it’s a lot of encouragement for them,” she said. “That they’re loved and of course that I miss them. I hope it keeps them engaged at home. They’re not getting as much attention from me as they would normally get, being at home.”
While Ensor said the transition to at-home work due to the virus was expected for all teachers, who left classrooms untouched, she commended the adapting everyone has done. She also has weekly ZOOM meetings with her students.
To her students, she had a message to share.
“Continue to work very hard, read every day. The more you read the more you will succeed and be ready for third grade,” she said. “I love you and I miss you. We will be seeing each other very soon.”
