In the United States, National Teacher Appreciation Week is held during the first full week of May, running from May 4 through May 8. This week honors educators for their role in teaching young children and adults in many core subjects as well as their influence on their students and community. It allows people to recognize the many things that their teachers have done for them that often go unnoticed. Teacher Appreciation Week allows educators to get the credit they deserve for their dedicated, passionate and selfless work.
There are a lot of creative ways that teachers are celebrated during this week. Many students and their families give handwritten letters to show what they are grateful for in their teachers. Others buy gifts, such as gift cards, classroom supplies, sweets or big baskets with a collection of things to show appreciation.
NDB hosted a fun week to appreciate its staffulty as well. The leaders of this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week were Director of Student Life and Leadership Alisia Bergholm and NDB parent Jenifer Scott. They put many hours into making sure the week was perfect for NDB’s hard-working staffulty. This week always acts as an amazing way to give them recognition.
“They go above and beyond every year,” said Bergholm. “We just have the most amazing faculty. It’s important for us to recognize them and to thank them because they do a lot.”
According to Scott, there were different events for NDB’s staffulty each day to make a fun week for them. Starting off strong on Monday was a dessert day where staffulty enjoyed different types of sweets in the faculty lounge. On Tuesday, there was a coffee cart from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. In the lounge, staffulty helped themselves to lattes, espressos, coffee or whatever else they desired to get their morning going. Following these days, the most exciting day of the week was “Adopt a Staffulty.” Parents signed up for a particular educator or staff member and brought a gift curated for that person. This gift also included a small token of appreciation from Bergholm and Scott. Thursday brought breakfast in the staffulty lounge. There were items provided by Epicurean and from parent donations. And, on the final day, the staffulty was given an NDB-branded gift, funded by the NDB Board.
“One of the things that makes NDB so unique and such a happy community is because [the staffulty] bring so much joy and commitment to the school … Without that, it would be a different place,” said Scott.
Students have the same appreciation for their teachers as many students do around the country. In every department, teachers make learning experiences better and support students throughout all of their classes. NDB staffulty members are also truly dedicated to and passionate about their jobs. They are the heart of the school and make sure that each student is successful.
Tri-School classes with NDB, Mercy and Serra give Tigers the opportunity to collaborate with students from different schools. The Tri-School teachers welcome students from multiple schools and create a supportive learning environment for them.
NDB freshman Nicole Dimitropoulos spoke about her Tri-School Drama I teacher, saying, “[Lawrence Long] is very nice to all of us, and he understands that a lot of us are new to drama and … gives us tools and resources to really learn about it in depth. And, he’s always there if we need to talk to him about something and if we’re confused. That’s very inspirational.”
It is so important to make teachers feel valued for the work that they do, especially at the end of the year when they are exhausted. This time reminds students to give them necessary credit for their invaluable role in mentoring, coaching and teaching of their students, which sets each of them up for their future.
This week brings everyone together as a community and allows its members to support each other.
