Grand Prize 2010 Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Contest Winner

Farley Elementary School in Huntsville, Alabama, told its teachers and staff, “You Make A World Of Difference.” The school used puppets representing children of various nationalities, international flags, and lapel pins from Positive Promotions to help represent the theme. Children and adults were encouraged to dress in regional costumes from different areas of the United States as well as from around the world on the Wednesday of Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. Huntsville restaurants provided various ethnic dishes for an appreciation luncheon. The printed program for the luncheon resembled a passport. Each guest received a “boarding pass” to write his or her name on and enter a drawing for door prizes. The school also gave out more than $4,000 in gift certificates donated by local businesses. Each day of the week, students brought in gifts for their teachers: flowers on Monday, fruit on Tuesday, etc.

Second Prize 2010 Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Contest Winners

In Boardman, Oregon, Riverside Junior/Senior High School told its classified staff “You’re A Treasure” with pirate- and island-themed activities. The school held two meals with specially named food; the invitations were printed on paper aged by dipping it in tea, then drying it, and rolled into scrolls. A team of teachers decorated the staff lounge with palm trees, tropical flowers, and images of lizards. Each staffer’s photo was placed on a paper cutout of a pirate and assigned a pirate name. Students wrote up notes of appreciation that were delivered in envelopes reading “Well, ‘isle’ be thankful you’re part of our staff!” The staff received chocolate coins, luau rubber ducks, palm tree trophies, leis, neon sunglasses and Positive Promotions starfish tumblers.

Third Prize 2010 Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week Contest Winner

The Jefferson Social Club hosted the festivities at Jefferson Elementary School in Gary, Indiana. To show that teachers and staff members are the apples of their eyes, a bulletin board displayed paper apples, each with someone’s name. Apple-themed items appeared throughout the week: apple fritters, apple lapel pins, apple picture frames, apple-scented hand soap and lotion, apple certificates, and apple-shaped jumbo paper clips. Teachers also received Positive Promotions academic monthly desk planners. Every day, a poem of appreciation was read by a student during morning announcements. The highlight of the week was a Jacademy Awards luncheon (a spoof of the Academy Awards). Honors went out in comical categories, such as Most Like Dr. Phil.

Honorable Mention

In Baltimore, Maryland, Perry Hall Elementary School went “cruisin’ towards summer.” Each day of the week was based on a different port of call and featured a corresponding basket of prizes. Staff members were eligible for the basket drawings by correctly answering a daily trivia question. Positive Promotions lunch bags, coin purses, spa kits, 3-section plates, and diffuser sets were spread throughout the baskets. Decorations, food, and gifts made faculty and staff feel like they had sailed to Alaska, the Panama Canal, Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean.

Mystery Solved

Give the title “It’s No Mystery–Teachers Make A Difference” to your recognition week. Find out if your community has a mystery dinner theatre. If so, ask the actors to do a production at your school; if not, invite your area’s CSI team to do a presentation. In addition, recruit volunteers to visit dressed as detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes, Columbo and Kojak. Have them hand out a list of quiz questions about mystery and detective TV shows. Give a “One Person Can Make A Difference” Notecard & Pen Set to each person who participates. Award a “One Person Can Make A Difference” Insulated Cooler Bag to the highest scorer(s).

Tasty Selection

Arrange for personalized potatoes this Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week. Set up a baked potato bar in your cafeteria with a variety of toppings, such as low-fat sour cream and cheddar cheese, chives, broccoli, and chili. You might even try shredded BBQ chicken and beef. Give everyone “Exceptional Staff, Extraordinary School” 3-Section Plates to put the potatoes on. Serve drinks in Stainless Steel Message Water Bottles.

Surprise Seating

Spread your gift giving over several days. Well ahead of time, send out letters to area businesses, asking them to donate gift cards. The night before the Monday of Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week, tape gift cards to the undersides of some teachers’ chairs. Also send an email telling people to look under their seats every morning. Each night, attach cards to different chairs. Make sure that all of your teachers have received one by the end of the week. During lunchtime on Friday, place 2011-2012 Academic Monthly Desk Planners and “Working Together To Make A Difference” Desk Caddies on every desk.

Perfect Fit

Create a friendly atmosphere by sponsoring a team-building activity. Obtain a puzzle that has approximately as many pieces as you have teachers and staff members. Bring everyone together. Let each person pick a piece. Then ask them to walk around the room and find people who have pieces that attach to theirs. Encourage participants to learn new things about their co-workers by asking thoughtful questions. After the puzzle is assembled, reward everyone
with “You’re An Essential Part Of Our School” Silver Puzzle Key Tags and “You’re An Essential Part Of Our School” Sticky Pad Portfolios.

Photo Challenge

Here’s a Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week activity which encourages your teachers to interact with non-teaching staff. Start by taking individual digital pictures of non-teaching staff members, such as janitors and bus drivers. Print the pictures out on paper, then evenly distribute them among your teachers. Tell these ­“contestants” that to receive a prize, they must physically find the people pictured and get them to autograph their photos. Give “Exceptional Staff, Extraordinary School” Tri-Fold Frame Clocks & Caddies to the staff members who had been photographed.

Putting It In Writing

Enlist the help of student council members. Have them supervise a table at which students can stop to write appreciation notes for their teachers. Put the notes in a box, then use them in a drawing for gifts. The more notes someone has addressed to him or her...the more chances to win. Consider “100 Years From Now” Avalon Tote Bags and “100 Years From Now” Large Padfolios With Matching Pens as prizes. Later, let your teachers read the notes.