TEACHERS AND STAFF ARE APPRECIATED AT WESTGATE!
Westgate Elementary's PTA in Arlington Heights recently celebrated and honored their teachers and staff with five exciting days of activities during National Teacher Appreciation Week. Declared by the National PTA as the first full week of May, it's a dedicated time to "honor teachers and recognize the lasting contributions they make to our lives."
Centered around an international theme, the Westgate PTA observed the week in a unique way by providing students, parents, and the PTA itself with the opportunity to say thank you.
The week began with the theme "Gracias is what we want to say, with a special treat to start your day." Everyone at Westgate, including the school's crossing guards, started their day with a special small treat. Three dozen homemade "thank you" muffins were also given to the staff from the Westgate PTA.
On Tuesday, the theme was "To say Obrigado… check out your door, something special on the decor." Fifty-five doors were decorated by the Room Reps to surprise the staff in the morning, a long standing Westgate tradition. Each door showcased the staff member it was honoring. Designs included student pictures, handprints, personalized art or notes. "It's such a joy to see the faces of the staff and students when they see the doors for the very first time," said Dawn Dalton, PTA Room Rep Chair.
"Are you ready for a yummy smoothie or latte? Because PTA wants to say Grazie!" was the theme for Wednesday as more than eighty people were treated by the PTA to a blended iced latte, milkshake, or smoothie made by the Latte Ladies and hand delivered to classrooms by parent volunteers.
The theme for Thursday was "A special gift from your diverse class, for a special teacher that we see; As we can say thank you in so many ways, Arigato, Xie Xie, Dekuju, Mahalo, Merci!" Room representatives together with students created memorable gifts for the teachers. There were many creative ideas such as scrapbooks and unique "monkey" platters or "flower" cards incorporating student's hand and thumb prints.
The grand finale for the week was "Teachers change the WORLD one child at a time. Enjoy your INTERNATIONAL feast from Westgate's parents!" Over fifty parents donated amazing and delicious main dishes, sides, desserts, and drinks from around the world. Eighteen countries were represented including Brazil, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, and Thailand. Each donation had a tent card with the family name, teacher/grade, dish name, and country represented. Festive decorations from Africa, Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, Peru, and other countries graced the tables. It was quite a breathtaking and interesting experience to take in!
"I still can't get over how spectacular the multicultural luncheon was last week. It was really eye-opening to see how many different cultures are represented in our school population, and it was an inspired idea to showcase that. It was truly admirable and a very heartwarming demonstration of the depth of appreciation that parents must feel for staff at Westgate," said Lynn Szabo, Westgate's Tech Support Staff.
And last but not least, a permanent international "thank you" decal written in many languages was also added to the school's wall. It provides a daily reminder to teachers and staff so they know how much they are truly appreciated at Westgate!