Tina Majchrzak

Hi Everyone,

I wish to solicit your feedback on the ideas below.  Please post any comments and/or additional suggestions you have below.  Let me know what idea(s) you like best.  Also, keep in mind that her birthday is Monday as well.

Thanks,
Tina

School Wide Events Planned for All Teachers

Please note that a basket in the teachers’ lounge will be stocked with snack items throughout the week.  If possible, please send snack items in with your child or drop them off in the office for the basket, beginning now through the end of next week.

Each teacher also will receive a gift bag.  It will contain various cosmetic and “girly” items (for female teachers) and items from restaurants, stores, massages, etc.

• Monday Poster on door and thank you note or card from each student (We could go with a tree rather than a poster.  I heard a rumor that the beautiful paper mache trees the kids made for the first biome may still be around.  If so, we could attach leaves cut out of paper to the limbs.  Leaves could have student photos, drawings, personal messages of gratitude, famous quotes about teaching, etc.  FYI, Ms. Beth’s birthday is Monday as well.)
• Tuesday 7-9 a.m. breakfast in Heron Hall (4-5 volunteers needed to help with set up, serving, and clean up.  Contact Stephanie, if interested.)
• Wednesday Each student sends in a packet of flowers, herbs, vegetables, etc. seeds.  (Teacher request in lieu of fresh flowers.  I already bought her a vase for flowers, so we might use that and “make” flowers out of the seed packets by taping them to ends of metal floral rods.  Students could put notes and/or pictures on the backs of them.)
• Thursday Chair massages and acupuncture, ice cream (or Italian ice or smoothies)
• Friday Catered lunch 10:15-2 by library (Need people to pick up food by 9:30, set up, serve, clean up, etc., and need restaurant connections for food, desserts, etc.  Please contact Stephanie.  FYI, Ms. Beth will be out on Friday.)

Gift Ideas

Sentimental (lower cost)

The following are planned.

• Class birthday poster or individual birthday cards on Monday.
• Personal notes of gratitude on leaves (for Monday’s tree) or flower petals (poster option).  If we stick with the poster option, I would suggest flowers with head shots of the students in the middle and their names and sentiments on the flower petals.  The poster would say something like “Thank you for helping us grow!”  Alternative suggestions?
• Video of students answering the following questions.  Please share any other ideas you have for questions.
  • What’s your favorite thing about Ms. Beth?
  • What makes her unique as a teacher?
  • Can you think of something she says a lot or a favorite quote that you will always remember?
  • What’s the most important thing you learned in fifth grade?
  • What’s the funniest thing that happened this year?

Here are some additional ideas the students might enjoy helping create.  Your thoughts?

• Writing a poem to Ms. Beth.
• Drawing her a picture.
• Poem and/or picture, etc. could be attached to a snack for her.  We could have a personal snack basket for her in the classroom.
• Serving dish or other useful pottery item they paint.  Suggestions?
• Decoupage furniture item such as saddle bar stool for the classroom with student messages of gratitude.  Suggestions?
• Stocking classroom with recess items, games, supplies, etc.

Higher Cost Items from Families

Please note that, if we give one of the high cost items to her now, I will not solicit anything from the class at the end of the year.  We could opt to give one of the higher cost items as a group to her at the end of the year (like the wallet or laptop) and maybe a smaller, class focused one like the Office 2008 now.  Let me know your thoughts.

• A wallet filled with gift cards to her favorite stores and restaurants (and generic VISA, AMEX, etc., which can be used anywhere).
• System made of pipe and cloth for partitioning room for biomes, plays, etc. that is easy to set up, break down, and store.
• Attractive classroom storage units.
• New laptop.  We could get one for about $500 (roughly $25 each).  Ms. Beth generously allows her students to use her personal laptop.  At this point the LCD screen is separating from the rest of the unit.  She mentioned that she plans to get a new one.
• Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Home & Student Edition for the classroom computers, so she can have Word, PowerPoint, and Excel available for her students (our kids!) for about $110 (roughly $6 each).

Acts of Service from Families

• Cover recess.
• Extended planning period.
• Suggestions?