Students' notes offer encouragement to health care workers

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) — Nurses, doctors, administrative assistants, janitors and many other employees at Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff found random notes of encouragement on the windshields of their vehicles last week.

Teachers from Community Christian School went around the different Regional West employee parking lots to place these notes and give these workers a little added encouragement going into the holiday season. The notes were drawn, colored, written and created by all the students at the school, from 18-month-old toddlers in the daycare to fifth-graders.

“We just want all of our health care workers in the area to know that CCS is praying for them and thinking of them and just wanted to show our appreciation during this difficult time,” Principal Deirdre Amundsen told the Scottsbluff Star-Herald.

Amundsen was the mastermind behind the project, asking her teachers to do the project with their students. First grade teacher Brandy Johnson said it was a great way to show their students other ways to help out the community.

“(It let) the kids know that we can do things in our community,” she said. “It doesn’t have to just be in school praying — which is a great thing to do — but then we can actually do a physical, tangible, hands-on thing to support our community.”

The teachers decided that last Monday was a good day to go out to put the cards and signs on the employees’ windows since it gave them all a little outdoor break from their in-service meetings. While students were on their early Thanksgiving break and didn’t get to help place the notes, their teachers said they had a lot of fun creating them.

“We have nurses on our school board, so we see the toll that it takes on them. And many of our families also are doctors...