What to write in a teacher’s leaving card

Perhaps you’re no longer going to be in the same class during the next school year, or maybe your favourite teacher is leaving for another job or retiring? Whatever the reason, we’ve come up with all sorts of teacher leaving messages for you so that you can show your appreciation for everything they’ve done.

Teachers are some of the most caring people. After all, they do dedicate the majority of their time to helping educate others (alongside dealing with all the classroom drama). Of all the jobs to choose, being a teacher is non-stop and you play such an important role in shaping future generations.

Why teachers are so important

Pretty much everyone knows and understands that to be a teacher you’ve got to be dedicated to the profession. But what does this mean exactly? Well, these are just some of the reasons why teachers are unsung heroes:

• Coming up with ways to make teaching fun and activities that the class will engage with takes a lot of effort and being creative.
• You can’t truly prepare for an ‘average day at work’ since you’re working with children meaning anything could happen. While there’s the famous showbusiness phrase of ‘never work with children or animals’, this doesn’t apply to the teaching profession… unfortunately.
• Whatever your teaching has to be correct since students rely on you to be the educator.
• There’s a very thin line between telling naughty students off and acting like their parents which can be a struggle.
• On top of all this, teachers can only go on longer vacations during official school holiday time (which also means that it’s more expensive for them to travel!).

In short, teachers really do shape future generations and have to put up with a lot in the process. Now let’s get into all of our ideas on what to write in a teacher’s leaving card to say goodbye to a special mentor of yours!

Simple teacher leaving messages

There’s genuinely nothing wrong with keeping things on the shorter side. After all, the gesture of sending a card in the first place is more than enough! So, if you’re not exactly sure what to write but know that you do want to say something, here are some of our ideas for simple teacher leaving messages:

1. Thank you for being the best teacher in the entire world!
2. You’ll always be my favourite teacher I’ve ever had and [insert subject] won’t be the same without you.
3. A massive thank you for everything you’ve done for all your students this year.
4. The impact you’ve had on me as a teacher can’t even be put into words, we’ll never get another teacher like you.
5. You may no longer be my teacher but I’ll remember everything you taught us all!

Sweet farewell messages for teachers

Maybe you’re not the type of person to get all emotional or have a particularly close relationship with your teacher? That’s okay! If you’re not sure what you want to say, the best thing to do is keep it sweet and simple, like these messages:

6. I’ve learnt so much this year and that’s all because of your amazing teaching. Thanks for everything and I’ll miss you being my teacher!
7. There’s no way I would have achieved what I have this year if I hadn’t had you as my teacher. I’m so sad you won’t be teaching me again next year but wish you all the best.
8. I just wanted you to know that I always really looked forward to coming into school every day because of you. Thank you for being such an amazing teacher!
9. You’ve been the best teacher in the whole wide world and I’m so sad that I won’t be in your classroom again next year.

Teacher leaving quotes

Don’t think you’re a natural with words? Quotes are an easy alternative that still carry just as much meaning and thought behind them and will work perfectly in a traditional thank you teacher card. To get you going, here are some of our favourite teacher leaving quotes:

10. “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” – Guy Kawasaki
11. “Teaching is the greatest act of optimism.” – Colleen Wilcox
12. “Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.” – Sidney Hook
13. “Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch.” – Judy Blume
14. “It takes a big heart to help shape little minds.” – Unknown
15. “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams

Funny messages for teachers leaving

If you think of yourself as a bit of a class clown, then why not live up to your reputation and include one of our funny messages for any teachers who are leaving. Here are some of our ideas to get you going:

16. Are you leaving because of me? My bad.
17. While I wish you all the best with your new class next year, let’s be honest, you’ll never find another student as funny as me.
18. Psst. Don’t tell the others but you’re definitely my favourite teacher.
19. You’re leaving? Who’s going to put up with me now?
20. I heard that you’re not going to be my teacher again next year, guess it’s time to see if I can beat my personal record for making a teacher laugh.
21. Do you know the worst part about this? I was finally starting to pay attention in class.

Retirement messages for teachers

Finally, after all the hours they’ve spent marking homework and teaching countless classes, they’ve taken the leap and decided that it’s time to retire. If you’re thinking about sending them a charming message, we’ve come up with a few you might want to use. And since it is their retirement, why not throw in one of our gifts to go along nicely with your card?

22. Congratulations on your retirement! Bet you’re excited to live like it’s the summer holidays 24/7.
23. Now you’re retiring from teaching, it’s time to put your feet up and just think about yourself.
24. Happy retirement, onto the next chapter post-teaching.
25. I’m sure that even after retirement you’ll still continue sharing your wisdom but now it’s time to focus on relaxing.
26. There will never be another teacher as great as you, enjoy retirement!
27. Thank you for dedicating so much of your life to education, [school name] won’t be the same without you.

Goodbye messages to teachers from parents

As a parent, knowing that your child is being taken care of at school and has great teachers is all you want. If there’s a particular teacher leaving that you know has had a big impact on your youngster, be sure to let them know how grateful you are with one of our goodbye messages to teachers from parents:

28. Since you started teaching [insert child’s name] we’ve noticed a massive difference in their effort at school. Thank you for everything and we all are wishing you the best!
29. Words can’t express how happy I am that my son/daughter had you as a teacher. Good luck at your next school, we’re sure they’ll love you!
30. From experience, we know that there aren’t many amazing teachers like you and we’ll always appreciate everything you’ve done.
31. Being a teacher is like taking on the role of part-time parent to around 30 kids. Not everyone has what it takes to be a teacher but we’re glad that there are people like you who make school an enjoyable place for the children.
32. We’ve heard you’re leaving and just wanted to send a message your way to let you know how thankful towards you!

Headteacher leaving messages

Perhaps it’s actually the headteacher of the entire school who’s moving on to new and exciting things. Even though they may not have been a direct teacher of yours, they’ll have had such a big impact on your school experience so deserve a little message to say thanks for everything. Can’t think of any headteacher leaving messages? As always, we’re here with some inspiration for you:

33. School is going to feel so different without you leading the way, wishing you the best with your next adventure!
34. You really weren’t anything like the horrible headteacher stereotype and will be dearly missed by all of us students.
35. Just wanted to let you know that the next headteacher is going to have big shoes to fill. Farewell!
36. Although you weren’t a direct teacher of mine, I still feel as though you’ve taught me a lot of things that will stay with me for life.
37. You can tell that teaching isn’t just a job for you but a passion.
38. This might be goodbye but the school and all the students you’ve impacted will never forget you!

Now you have a better idea of what you’re going to write, it’s time to pick the card. And boy oh boy, you’re in luck because here at thortful we’ve got a huge selection of thank you teacher cards to choose from. Whether you’re planning on just sorting it yourself or picking up a teacher leaving card from the class, hopefully we’ve helped when it comes to inspiration for goodbye messages to teachers. Do you sometimes struggle to find the right words? We’ve got all sorts of inspiration on what to write over on the thortful blog.