A special thank you to a special teacher

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/06/2014 (4439 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

June is always a crazy, busy month. School is wrapping up and summer is officially starting.

Every year at this time there are hundreds of students finishing up high school for good. Preparing for graduation. And this year my youngest daughter Karlie is one of them. She is preparing to graduate from Maples Collegiate after four years of attending the school. A school that has been amazing to her.

Karlie had no problems adjusting to high school. The friends she has made at Maples Collegiate have been truly great friends to her.  And the staff have all been super friendly and supportive.

But one teacher really stands out to Karlie. His name is Dariusz Piatek, her teacher advisor or, as the students say, her T.A.

Mr. Piatek, who has been the T.A of the same group of students since Grade 9, has been an important part of all of his students lives. He is an amazing, caring man who is always there to help whenever someone is in need.

Mr. Piatek barely knew Karlie, yet he got involved with my need for a new kidney. He informed the class about kidney failure and dialysis. They watched videos relating to kidney failure and organ donation. He arranged for someone from Transplant Manitoba to come in and talk to the class about the importance of being organ donors.

The class was put into groups and each group had a different assignment. One group spent time at Seven Oaks Hospital, where they interviewed one of the nephrologists that treat me.

Another group, including my daughter Karlie, came to our house and conducted an interview with me and my daughter Kristie about our lives with me on dialysis. This was all done for a class project.

Dariusz Piatek took a lot of time to educate his class on a very important subject. And he made his students aware of the importance of organ donation.

I think everyone has a special teacher who affects their lives profoundly.

Mr. Piatek did that for my daughter. He is always available to talk and to help his students with situations that requires some of his assistance.

I just want to thank him and let his future students know they are going to be extremely lucky to get him as their teacher.

Jennifer Laferriere is a community correspondent for Garden City.