Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 12/18/2023
MONSON — Resident Ray Olander is asking past and current Monson Public Schools students to send cards to former teaching assistant Arabella Olander for Christmas this year.
Arabella, also known as Mrs. O, is currently at Chestnut Hill Rehabilitation Center in East Longmeadow and will be there “for a while,” Ray explained. He stated that he wanted to surprise Arabella with the cards since she would be at the rehabilitation center for the holiday season.
Mrs. O was a Title I teaching assistant at Monson Public Schools for 18 years until she retired six years ago around 2017, Ray stated. While she “bounced around” to multiple schools, Arabella was dedicated to helping her students.
“She really took her job to heart,” he said, emphasizing how often students would express their appreciation for Arabella’s work.
He described how the two of them frequently used to walk together through the center of Monson and there would always be at least one person who stopped them to say hi to Mrs. O.
While “everyone loves their teacher when they’re young,” people often used to say, “I wish you were my mom!” to Arabella, Ray said, explaining that this really showed how loved she was as a teaching assistant.
Letters sent to Arabella Olander can be addressed to Chestnut Hill Rehabilitation Center, care of Arabella Olander, 32 Chestnut St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028.