When I started writing this column seven and a half years ago, I expected to be overwhelmed with people who wanted to nominate one or more of their current or former teachers as Hidden Heroes, but that hasn't happened nearly as often as I had expected. Today's column, thanks to a parent of a young student, is an exception.

Recently Kazue Fujiki, Mathew Brown's mother, emailed me to nominate his Grade 1 French emersion teacher, Kathleen Lougheed-Mercier as a Hidden Hero. That took me into her classroom not once but twice.

As I returned my ID badge to the office after my first visit, with tongue in cheek, I asked the school secretary how long she thought I would have to spend in jail if I kidnapped an entire class of Grade 1 students? These kids were so extraordinarily cute and well behaved any adult would enjoy hanging out with them.

Kids of that age are always great fun but there was something in the way they behaved in Kathleen's class; something in the energetic sparkle in their eyes - strangely it is almost an exact copy of the sparkle in Kathleen's eyes - something in the way they settled into their various tasks so quickly and effortlessly that told me they had just spent a year with an exceptional teacher.

Speaking about "various tasks" I was amazed at how frequently these transitions took place. Every five or ten minutes, Kathleen almost magically switched her students' attention from language arts, to math, singing or reading and all in French, a language most of these kids had never spoken before last September.

By the way, the class rule each year is that starting in May her students speak to her only in French and in June they speak to both her and the other children in French only. Wouldn't it be wonderful if adults could learn that quickly?

Kazue wanted me to acknowledge Kathleen as a Hidden Hero for many different reasons. The first thing she mentioned was that her son, Mathew, is an "energetic" child but, she says, when he comes into Kathleen's classroom he very quickly settles down and is ready to work.

She is also impressed with the way Kathleen works with and communicates with parents and all of the extra effort she puts into field trips and special classroom activities. She is also impressed with Kathleen's ability to adjust the curriculum to fit the interests of her students and their parents. For instance this year Kazue has been teaching the kids Japanese and she has had a Japanese Drum Group come into the class.

Thanks to Kazue our attention has been drawn to an exceptional teacher, one of many in our school district. If you have children or grandchildren in school and they have excellent teachers, have you thanked them recently?