GARDENING CLUB

A Letter of Gratitude to Phillip Naughton

Dear Phillip,

Thank you for guiding me in the gardening club! Doing gardening is meaningful and I feel I was quite reluctant to leave it and I will definitely miss it very much.

Following you to do the gardening really opened a completely new world to me. I was a bit astonished when I saw you picking up different kinds of herbs and vegetables and put them in your mouth straight away. I got to know that many vegetables can be eaten raw. You got me more interested in vegetables as well. I really like to eat snow peas now, crispy and sweet. I learnt to use lettuce to wrap different kinds of vegetables. I really appreciate that you invite us to be a healthy and nutritious lunch, which inspired me to eat healthier as well.

I also feel I have learnt a lot in the gardening club. You are a good and generous teacher, as you never get tired of giving us knowledge. You not only taught us how to plant the vegetables step and step, but also tested us and explained the reasons patiently to us. Sometimes, I was embarrassed with my poor English as I didn’t know the names of the plants. Thank you for your understanding and spelling out patiently the name of the plants. You also invited us to notice the waste ground at the school, which raised our awareness of the environment and the feeling that I was doing something meaningful made me happy.

Doing gardening also helped me to reduce the study stress. Although it was a bit hard to wake up in the early morning, especially during the winter, it provided me a chance to move away from the studies and to appreciate the beauty of the nature.

By following you working on the school ground, I also got to know more about the school. I didn’t know that there were so much weed that needed cleaning and so many trees needed trimming and taking care of. I was proud when we finally cleaned up the ground behind the locker and planted the area. The whole experience was a miracle.

Thank you so much Phillip. You are really a good teacher and gardener. Thank you for teaching us this year and I hope you will inspire more students to love the school and appreciate the beauty of nature!

Kind regards,

Shanying (Anna) Zheng

2018 International Student Captain