Thompson ES students display some of the items they received from President Barack Obama.

When Brenda Mays’ class at HISD’s Thompson Elementary School sent individual holiday greeting cards to President Barack Obama last December, they didn’t really expect to hear back from him. But when the students began opening their mailboxes late last month, they were astonished to discover he hadn’t just responded to their letters; he had sent them each a care package, too.

Each package contained a variety of materials, such as photos of the president and his family (including dogs Bo and Sunny), personal letters addressed to the students by name, and fact sheets about Obama’s family, the White House, and the importance of eating healthy and exercising.

“It began with my students learning how to write and say their addresses and telephone numbers correctly,” explained Mays. “As we prepared holiday greeting cards for their parents, the students asked if they could send the president and his family a Christmas card. It became a teachable moment.”

The students pulled up the president’s address on a computer, then addressed and stamped their envelopes, and took the cards home to be mailed.

“No one had any idea that President Obama would be so thoughtful and kind,” added Mays. “The packets were awesome. The parents were as excited as their children, because they went to the mailbox and found a letter with the White House seal on it. The students have learned a lot about the president and his roles since then.”