Some teachers leave an impression that lasts far beyond the school year. For a group of North Lamar High School seniors, that influence came full circle Monday when members of the Class of 2027 returned to visit their former kindergarten teacher, Lisa Thompson.
At Higgins Elementary, kindergarten classes were identified by colors, with students proudly belonging to groups such as the Green Bears or Blue Bears. For several years, Thompson taught the Green Bears, and her students quickly learned that being a Green Bear was something special. Each child had a green bear die-cut displaying his or her name, making it easy for everyone on campus to know exactly where that student belonged.
Years later, the students still remembered.
On Monday, members of Thompson’s former Green Bear class walked back into her classroom—this time as seniors preparing for graduation. Before their visit, they once again attached their green bear name badges to their shirts with safety pins, just as they had done as kindergarteners.
Then, for a few moments, they became Green Bears again.
The seniors gathered around Thompson and listened as their former teacher read them one more story, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss—a fitting message for students who are now preparing to leave North Lamar and begin their next chapter.
The classroom was filled with laughter, memories and more than a few tears as students reflected on how much had changed since their kindergarten days and how many of those early memories had stayed with them.
The Class of 2027 Green Bears may have outgrown their kindergarten classroom years ago, but being a Green Bear—and the teacher who made that classroom feel like a place where they belonged—will always be part of their story.
