Obama left whiteboard note to Newtown High School [PHOTO]

Before joining the interfaith vigil held Sunday night at Newtown High School, President Barack Obama spent several hours meeting with the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting and the first responders who helped them.

Although the details of those meetings is traditionally kept private out of respect for the families, several heartwarming details have emerged.

Two teachers, Steve George and Bobby Pattison, left a note for Obama on the whiteboard in the room used by the president as a staging area before he entered the auditorium for the vigil. When they returned to the room, they found a reply from the president.

"You’re in our thoughts and prayers," it said, followed by Obama's distinctive signature.

One of the teachers, Steve George, who is also a football coach, tweeted out a picture of the note.

Dear President Obama, The Newtown community is so thankful that you are coming to help us heal. In times of adversity it is reassuring to know that we have a strong leader to help us recover.

-Steve George, teacher/football coach -Bobby Pattison, teacher

Myself an pattison left a note to president Obama on my board and he responded!!Here is his response. twitter.com/newtownfootbal…

— Steven George (@newtownfootball) December 17, 2012

He also posed with a group of kids, siblings of some of the first graders slain in the shooting, for a photo that one of the families later tweeted out by one of the Newtown residents in the room.