Saying goodbye to students can be so hard. After spending a whole year working together, it’s impossible to imagine our classrooms without them! One of the best ways to show them how much they mean to you is to write end-of-year letters to students. Take a look at some terrific examples from other teachers, and learn how to write your own.
How to Write End-of-Year Letters
Keep it short
We make a lot of memories with our kids, but trying to create a highlight reel for everyone would be tough. It’s better to keep your end-of-year letters to students short and sweet. Even if it’s brief, it can be heartfelt.
Personalize
Even if you use a template, there are ways to customize your letters. Of course, you’ll want to address your notes to each student by name. Along with your signature at the bottom, though, you can mention one special thing you’ll remember about them so that it feels more personal.
Use a Template
A template makes it easy to quickly customize letters for each of your students. Check back soon for our free downloadable end-of-year letter templates!
End-of-Year Letters Examples and Ideas
Take a look at what other teachers have written to find more ideas for your own end-of-year letters to students and families.
KindergartenWorks
1. Goodbye Poem
Sometimes a poem can capture our feelings better than any letter ever could. This sweet printable is perfect for letting your students know how much they mean to you, while also reinforcing language skills. It’s a win-win!
Including a photo of your student is an easy way to personalize your letter, plus give families a cute keepsake they’ll love to pull out and share years from now.
This is an incredibly clever idea, and perfect for the early elementary grades. You could even personalize this by including the student’s name for the letter it starts with!
Learn more: ABC Farewell at Totally Terrific in Texas
Primary Press
4. Poem with Colorable Picture
This poem comes in two versions, one with a picture of a girl and one with a boy. Pass these out on the last day of school and let kids color their pictures. The final result is a little bit of you and a little bit of them, all in one!
Choose some notecards you love and spend a few hours writing personal messages. This takes a little more time, but you only need a few short sentences to make students and their families feel really special.
You can use the same message over and over again, but handwriting it out makes it feel more personal. We love that these letters feature the students’ names in beautiful calligraphy at the top, too.
This collaborative letter is such a cool idea! Gather quotes, stories, and words of wisdom from various people who’ve interacted with your students over the last year, and gather them together into one sweet document they’ll cherish.
Pair your end-of-year letters to students with this cute activity! Each student turns a paper bag into their own mailbox. Then, they write letters to each other to slip into the boxes, along with your own special deliveries.
Parents and guardians will appreciate a letter at the end of the year too. Use it to sum up some of the great things that happened, and invite them to keep in touch in the future.
Poems are popular for end-of-year letters, and this one by Debbie Clement is truly sweet. It’s perfect for preschool and early elementary, especially when you add your own short note to personalize it.
Here’s another clever rhyme for young students, this one specific to preschool activities and learning. Personalize it with teacher names, and parents can tuck this into their child’s memory book as a keepsake.
This is one of those ways ChatGPT can be a real time-saver for teachers! With just a few simple prompts, the program can write individualized letters for your students. One teacher even used it to write custom poems!
Mrs. Wheeler’s First Grade Tidbits
14. End of Year Bookmarks
When you turn your end of year letters into bookmarks, students can keep them close at hand for years to come.
Print these simple notes on colorful paper, then flip them over and write a line or two on the back that’s customized for your student. Simple and so thoughtful!
