Hi,
I work at a school, and we do the etiquettal practice of saying きをつけ れい (with a bow) before and after class, as well as after cleaning and when we have formal occasions (not very often now with covid).
When I came across the 礼 kanji in my level 4 progress lessons, and it was translated as “Thanks”, I immediately wondered if it was the kanji used in the れい part. Regardless, I had a mnemonic in my mind of Totoro holding his umbrella in the rain, bowing as he says ”れい".
Is this the correct kanji for this?