February 14th is a day when it is traditional to send a card or gifts to a person or multiple parties with whom one shares a loving bond or connection. In the old-school tradition, this gesture was purposely meant to be anonymous, or done as a surprise for a new connection or love interest, hence the term “secret admirer.” Fans and alumni of the University of Notre Dame are perhaps the furthest things from the idea of “secret” admirers though, as some wear their pride and passion for the university on their sleeves.
We’ve all traded fun or silly Valentine’s Day cards with our elementary school classmates at some point in our lives.Out in Stockton, California, this special group of future Notre Dame alumni and fans couldn’t wait to share their love with us, and so this year, Her Loyal Sons received a special collection of Valentine’s Day cards from a spectacular group of young fans who are bursting with love for Notre Dame.
At the Taylor Leadership Academy, an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) school in Stockton, California, 3rd-Grade teacher Allison Silva has been working to instill the value of a college education in her students. Her classroom has grown to become deeply passionate about the value of higher education ever since they adopted the University of Notre Dame as their “sister” school more than three years ago. While all her classes have shown deep admiration for the Notre Dame family and their football team, the most recent group (the class of 2029) has been noticeably more enthusiastic than previous classes.
Ms. Silva was recognized by the University of Notre Dame in October of 2015 for her wonderful work with her students, and through her Twitter account (which you must follow @alsil23) she was invited to campus for an official visit to all the facilities and to attend the senior day game against Wake Forest. If you have not seen the First Time Fans video of her experience, and her incredibly awesome students, check it out now:
This past Valentine’s Day the class got together and made some of the cutest, funniest, and most outstanding Notre Dame Football Valentine’s Day cards you will ever see. Here are the original tweets of the cards as shared by Ms. Silva via her class Twitter account:
@JaeeSmiff9ENT when students design their own V-Day cards! You are our hero! How can anyone handle the cuteness? #???????? pic.twitter.com/akemDwvI2z
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
If seeing Jaylon as drawn by a 3rd-grade super fan doesn’t just warm your heart, nothing will.
@SheldonDay_91 when we design our own V-Day cards! Be a boss like SHELDON! You are our hero! We ???? you! #cutest ever pic.twitter.com/uF27dSjiOd
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
BE A BOSS LIKE SHEDON!! I mean, come on. How can you NOT smile at that?
@Will_Fuller7 you have your very own V-Day card design in CA! Heart can’t take the cuteness! We ???? you! #cutestever pic.twitter.com/NpaYEbSLKH
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
I hope you heart gets FULLER?! /dead
@THunterJr when our class designs their own V-Day cards! Can’t take the cuteness! We love you & you are our hero! #???? pic.twitter.com/ySoj77yMnp
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
Pun game SO STRONG WITH THESE KIDS! They are my heroes.
@LuckyLefty8 when we design our own V-Day cards in class! We love you and you are our hero! #underarmor #we????Malik pic.twitter.com/QA2BDERNIr
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
I cannot get over the fact that they got his heft-handedness correct. I just can’t. Too perfect.
@CoachBrianKelly while this student may have missed the V-Day mark its still a message worth sending! #we????ourcoach pic.twitter.com/GuzplvwEG9
— Ms Silva’s 3rd Grade (@alsil23) February 3, 2016
What Notre Dame Football collection would be complete without Coach Brian Kelly keeping the fellas in line? NONE I TELL YOU!
The truth is this: I saw these and completely melted inside. To see the next generation of Notre Dame fanatics create these amazing little works of art – and to see the love they poured into them – gave me an incredible feeling of joy and pride. I feel pride that the generation behind us will be even better fans than we are right now. I feel joy in seeing the purity of their love for a community that welcomed them with such great, big open arms. As a subway alum myself, it gave me a deep feeling of unity, and I felt overcome with love for this group of children on the opposite end of our country who happened to love the same school that I love so dearly.
I reached out to Ms. Silva in hopes that we could get our hands on some of these Valentine’s Cards, and Ms. Silva responded with as much enthusiasm as you would expect, and then some. After a lovely exchange, she agreed to have her students draw up some more cards which she would mail to us. When we got them, I could hardly contain myself. Don’t let me spoil it, take a look for yourselves:
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- Yeah you will. LOVE ME SOME JAYLON!
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- The level of detail here is amazing. I mean look at that pylon!
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- I love that he’s running through the tallest field grass EVER.
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- The numbers on the field KILL me. #TeamMalik
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- I love the attention paid to making sure the Under Armour logo was ERRYWHERE.
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- Love the disarming flowers. It’s the details that count.
As adorable as that all is, what we didn’t expect was that she would also have each student send us hand written letters thanking us for supporting them and for all the love that we have shared with them. Without knowing us personally, each student told us all about what they love most about Notre Dame, and how much they love us for supporting them. They sent us cool things about themselves, what their hobbies were and they all had innumerable questions about our Notre Dame experiences. We cannot wait to write them all back!
This is what Valentine’s Day and love are really all about. A day when it is traditional to send a card or gifts to a person or multiple parties with whom one shares a loving bond or connection. I know that after getting to know these wonderful kids, I can say this without hesitation: Her Loyal Sons loves Ms. Silva’s 3rd Grade Class!
Follow Ms. Silva’s 3rd Grade class on Twitter! @alsil23
"He's what would've happened if Jesus knew Final Cut" - Ty Hildenbrant, The Solid Verbal
SupermanTDJesus is a video-making, and podcast-talking person. He favors caps lock and expressing himself through pictures and GIFs during games. His videos are a mix up of the cool football plays from the previous week's Notre Dame game, tooooootally spectacular editing, and the most polarizing music selections. Sometimes, he'll write nice things.
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Damn dude, it just got a little dusty in here…
I got the exact same feeling when I opened the letter and saw just how much they loved us unconditionally for supporting them. Ms. Silva and her students are some of the greatest people I’ve ever had the opportunity to know.