For all LAHS grads who took an English class taught by  Mrs. Claire Pelton, this message is for you:

Did you ever wish you had a way to tell one of your high school teachers how much you enjoyed being in his/her class,  to relate how the experience helped you in the future, or to share memories of the class that you still carry with you?  If you took an English class from Mrs. Pelton, whatever it is you’d like her to know, now is the time to tell her, and there's an easy way to do it.

Mrs. Pelton has stage IV cancer.  She beat it once, but it’s back, and this time she’s decided to forgo radiation and chemotherapy and has chosen quality over quantity for her life.  She’s receiving palliative care, and right now the tumors aren't growing and she is symptom-free! 

As a retired educator myself, I know that she’d appreciate hearing that all her evenings spent reading student papers and supervising school activities were well spent.  And she’ll be cheered to read the many ways her life’s work has made a difference in your life.  She gave me the “OK” to send you this message regarding her health and to the letter-writing project a few of our classmates and I have conjured up.  In fact, she is really looking forward to hearing from you. It will make her day, and you’ll feel good, too.

This is the way it will work:

• You compose your letter.
• Mrs. Pelton doesn’t like to send or read emails, so ideally you’ll send your letter to the mail box that’s been rented for a month just for this special project. The address is  below. There’s something about opening an envelope that has been addressed and sealed by the sender that makes the message and signature inside seem more like a gift!
• BUT, if you strongly prefer to use technology, send an email to me with the subject “Mrs. Pelton”, and your letter attached to it as a document so I can print it out.
• The letters will be collected and presented to Mrs. Pelton in some yet-to-be-determined special way, possibly in an album, or more simply in a ribbon-tied box.
• To send your letter via the US Postal Service, address the envelope to:
  Mrs. Claire Pelton
         903 East El Camino Real Ste. 6
         PMB# 209
         Mountain View, CA 94040
• To send your letter as an email attachment, mail it to:  lahs62@gmail.com

This project is time sensitive.  All letters must be received by August 31.  Earlier is preferred!
Thank you,

Sylvia (Salassi) Talarico