Western Springs Schools Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week

For National Teacher Appreciation Week, the four schools of District 101 in Western Springs are letting no day go by without ensuring that each and every teacher and school staffer know that they are very much appreciated!
As the school year winds down, Laidlaw, Field Park and Forest Hills Elementary, and McClure Junior High each have selected a theme and centered on it a week’s celebration of all things teacher.

At Laidlaw, the theme is Derby Days of Appreciation (as in the Kentucky Derby). On Monday, “Hats off to Our Teachers” day, students all wore hats and staff wore jockey-style hats. Tuesday, each teacher got a frozen dinner; Wednesday, a geranium plant and thank-you bags. Thursday, each teacher will receive a book filled with their students’ favorite quotations and clip-art, and Friday will be a breakfast supplied by Teacher Appreciation Week committee members.

Each Laidlaw teacher also has a “horse” entered in a raffle with enough prizes for all entrants. “When the teacher wins, you can hear the classroom of students just absolutely erupt in enthusiasm and yells and clapping and excitement,” related Laidlaw TAW head Ellen Byrne. “That to me is just indicative of how big of a fan these kids are of their teachers. They’re so excited to see them get something and have their name and horse announced over the intercom.”

To the east, at Field Park, the school is decked out in Olympic-style nations-of-the-world décor, as “Field Park Teachers Go for the Gold.” The week’s activities include a “parade of nations” (each teacher and class being assigned an Olympic country,) a spa day with a massage therapist, and a teacher luncheon at First Methodist Church, and teachers received vases of flowers and circular cutouts from their students of “my teacher deserves a gold medal because…”
“Our teachers do so much for our kids; we just want to give a little back to them in terms of showing our appreciation for what they do,” said Field Park TAW chair Julie Dickett.

Down at Forest Hills, “Our Teachers are Superheroes,” prompting a Tuesday school-wide cape-fest, including teacher capes designed and decorated by their students. Since superheroes need to recharge too, there’s a Monday breakfast, a Thursday beef/eggplant luncheon and a Friday “recharge cart” of healthy snacks. And teachers also received comic books starring themselves, penned by their students.

“It turned out awesome,” said Forest Hills coordinator Luciana Paulson, who also worked at making handmade gifts for all the teachers. “You wouldn’t believe how all the kids doing the same project—they all brought back something different. It’s very interesting how this works.”

Finally, McClure Junior High also adopted an Olympic decorative theme, focusing their appreciation for teachers on providing a unique free meal each day of the week. Monday and Thursday are breakfasts provided by parents, Friday a Scavuzzo’s-catered lunch and healthful snacks on Tuesday and Wednesday. Each staffer is also receiving a $50 Visa gift card and is entered in a daily raffle, and the entire school will dress in red, white and blue for Friday.

“Every day, the teachers have something in the lounge for them to eat,” said McClure TAW chair Kristin Schultz. “The teachers love coming in and having the lunch, having the breakfast days.”