Students in Washington state surprised their teacher by singing christmas carols on her front lawn. She’s fighting cancer.
Laurie Burpee, a second-grade teacher in Vancouver, Washington, was sitting in her home recently, resting before a chemotherapy appointment the next day, when she saw a light and then saw “little Santa hats” in her front yard.
Standing on Burpee’s front lawn was a group of nearly 30 kids singing Christmas carols for their beloved teacher, who has been out on medical leave since October.
Burpee was diagnosed with cancer in May. Doctors thought she had breast cancer but discovered after she underwent a double mastectomy that she actually had a rare salivary gland cancer.
She underwent six rounds of radiation and just completed her third round of chemotherapy to try to beat the cancer that she said has metastasized to her lungs.
When she went on medical leave from York Elementary School earlier this year, Burpee left behind 20 second-grade students but she also left a legacy of kindness.
The elementary school has launched a kindness project in her honor, inspired by Burpee’s annual tradition of organizing a day of random acts of kindness with her friends on her birthday.
The students who visited Burpee’s home are part of the choir at York Elementary School, where Burpee has taught for more than five years.
Burpee called the gesture, overwhelming. Adding, “The best part was the kids. I miss those kids so much and I miss my colleagues.”