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CBS4 SPOTLIGHTS OPA TEACHER FOR SUPPORTING CALIFORNIA FIRE VICTIMS
CBS Channel 4 stopped by Orchard Park Academy recently to highlight students who are writing cards and letters of encouragement for the thousands of families affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires.
 
The fires, which began on January 7th and ripped through communities like Pacific Palisades and Altadena, have destroyed homes and schools, forcing kids to move to online learning while living in rented apartments, or nearby towns with extended family.
 
“You are in my prayers during this difficult time,” read one letter. “It’s OK to grieve what you’ve lost,” wrote another student. The cards were decorated with rainbows, flowers, hearts and sunsets- calming images to lift the spirits of their traumatized peers on the West Coast. Some students wrote their letters in Spanish.
 
The school-wide effort was organized by new teacher and California native, Claire Pasco. Pasco has been in Colorado for less than a year, but she knows about the tragic Marshall fire of December 2021 that started in Boulder County under similar conditions - months of dry weather and 100 mile-per-hour winds.
 
While there are many organizations distributing household goods, food, and water, Pasco felt that emotional support, especially for children, was also important to provide. All in all, Pasco collected hundreds of letters which were delivered to Los Angeles fire victims last week.
 

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