I was very happy when I saw your front page article about Maria Brountas (BDN, March 23-24). Mrs. Brountas was my first grade teacher 11 years ago, and she remains one of my most memorable teachers.

Mrs. Brountas had a knack for making learning fun and she did it with an amount of warmth, compassion and understanding that made every child in our class look up to her.

I recently had a chance to visit Mrs. Brountas’ classroom during the school day, and the second I stepped in to room number 9 the memories came rushing back. I remember making a giant time machine out of old cardboard boxes so that we could go back to the land of the dinosaurs, and I remember how we rearranged the boxes so that we could rocket to the moon during our unit on our solar system.

However, the thing I loved best about my year in first grade wasn’t the time machine, or even the space shuttle, it was the teacher who brought it all to me, the woman who went the extra step even when she was unsure of where her path was leading.

Mrs. Brountas is a fabulous woman and an amazing teacher. She truly is a “mentor for life.” Amy Friedenberg Bangor