Hey ladies, at our school we do Staff Appreciation Day on that Monday in May. We were getting parents to make food and assigned foods to the parents. We asked them what they'd like to make and that's what they were assigned. This year though, we're catering it and having a lot of it donated by local restaurants with the stipulation that we'd post their restaurant name all over the place that day. They like that idea.
We give the staff gifts every year. last year it was personalized pens with our school logo on it and the phrase "Thank You For Making A Difference In The Life Of A Child". I wrote a poem and posted it for them and had it roled up with ribbon etc about "not teaching subjects, but teaching children" etc. It was a nice day.
This year we plan on sprucing up their staff room like one of you mentioned. Sort of like a While You Were Out episode. Should be fun.
Our school doesn't let parents donate homebaked items for events, so I'm afraid we have some of the same problems. Someone told me that this was something they had parents signup for at the beginning of the year like when you try to get them to volunteer.
The irony of commitment is that it’s deeply liberating-in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life. --Anne Morris
We probably have the "coolest" principal in the country. He is very supportive of the PTO. He sponsors t-shirt days (our school wears uniforms), hat days, blue jean days all the time.
He was very excited about "Spicing Up" teacher appreciation.
Denise - sounds like a great plan! Lot's of creativity and fun. Did you get your principal to sign off on it?
We were planning a theme week one time for the elmentary school with Silly Socks and Crazy Hat type stuff each day. Although a really easy going guy and very supportive of PTO efforts, our principal totally vetoed "crazy hat day".
He said that hats are one the top causes of fights/arguments among students. Added to the other problems of keeping up with them, should they be taken on/off in the building, etc. - he stood firm on "no hats". We did something else instead, but I just remember being surprised by how strongly he felt about this.
In our middle school, hats are STRICTLY forbidden, so we couldn't even propose a crazy hat day there.
