Principal Farewell Letter

A farewell letter is written when one is departing from his/her loved ones, colleagues, friends and relatives. This letter helps the people staying behind communicate their thoughts and feelings for the person who is leaving. It leads to a pleasant and memorable departure for the person. One such example of this letter is a principal farewell letter. When a Principal quits his/her job or retires from the same, the school staff, students, etc., organizes a farewell party for him/her, and this letter is a part of the same.

When someone departs, he/she leaves behind many who loved to be with him/her, and some who hated him/her. However, while bidding farewell, one should not give out any negative vibes spoil the atmosphere. Whether you are happy or unhappy with the departure of the person, it is advisable to keep the atmosphere positive, and bid a farewell to him/her with a smile. When a person is a part of some organization, trust, etc., he/she spends enough time within the same, and contributes towards it. While departing from the organization, a few words of appreciation would help him/her feel that he/she was important for the organization, and his/her efforts were meaningful.

Writing a farewell letter is not difficult. In case of friends or colleagues, one can write an informal letter; whereas, when it comes to writing a farewell letter to boss, principal, etc., one needs to write a formal farewell letter. This is because one can be casual in his/her language while addressing it to a friend, colleague or relative, but in other cases, one has to maintain a formal tone.

Points to be remembered while writing a farewell letter:

While writing this letter, one has to first understand the situation, the target audience and the relation one shares with the reader. Based on this, one can decide on the content and format of the letter. Let us discuss the same, with reference to the Principal farewell letter.

1. The letter should be precise. Be it a student, teacher, trustee, etc., he/she should write a precise letter
2. The tone of the letter should be positive and pleasant
3. The letter should be addressed to the right person, with proper salutations
4. Discuss some pleasant moments and do not mention any unpleasant events
5. Wish him/her all the best for the future, and close the letter on a positive note
6. One can enclose some pictures, greetings or a gift with the letter, as a token of love

Read the sample farewell letter given below to understand the concept better.

Sample Principal Farewell Letter:

7th December 2011
Marx Patricks
Trustee - St. Patricks School
Sunshine Street
Moonshine Towers
Texas - 21306

To,
Father Fernandez
Principal - St. Patricks School

Dear Father Fernandez,

Today, as you step down from your position and hand over your authority to Father Bishops, we wish to express our thoughts and experience working with you.

You joined the school 5 years back and devoted yourself completely for the betterment of the children. The school has undergone tremendous change under your mentoring, and it has worked in a positive way for the children. We managed to rank in the top five best schools of Texas because of you, and your contribution to this school would thus be memorable.

As I write this, I must not forget the feedback from the school staff and students. I must congratulate you and thank you on behalf of them, for being such a good leader and mentor for all. The students would miss you, and the staff would miss working with such a chief again. As you leave and hand over the responsibility to Father Bishops, it creates a situation of mixed feelings for us. The school is getting another holy and bright principal, but we would however, miss you. I must also say that because of you, our expectations from Father Bishops have increased, and we hope he lives up to the same.

I once again thank you on behalf of the students, staff and the trust, and wish you all the best for your future, and your dream of starting a free school in your church. We are sure that this endeavor would change many lives for better.

Thank you once again

Regards,

Marx Patricks

This sample letter could serve as a reference or one could use the same by modifying it, as required. Thus, express yourself before the person departs so that you do not regret later for not having expressed yourself. Also, you can look Sample of Boss Farewell Letter and Sample of Client Farewell Letter.