Inspirational Teachers Honored for Staff Appreciation Night
By: Dylan Jennings
Writer
Schooling is a combination of students and teachers. Most of the time outstanding students are recognized for their success and hard work, however, teachers are often times overlooked for their hard work and motivational factors on their students. This has led Buhach Colony to establish a staff appreciation night during the football games. This special event is where a football athlete chooses one teacher that they feel has had an impact on themselves. These teachers are then recognized for their
Writer
Schooling is a combination of students and teachers. Most of the time outstanding students are recognized for their success and hard work, however, teachers are often times overlooked for their hard work and motivational factors on their students. This has led Buhach Colony to establish a staff appreciation night during the football games. This special event is where a football athlete chooses one teacher that they feel has had an impact on themselves. These teachers are then recognized for their
Staff and Senior Athletes Proceed with Staff Appreciation Ceremony
Photo by: Jessica Pinasco |
efforts. Now Buhach sports are taking it one step further and has established a staff appreciation night for both the men and women’s basketball teams. This year will mark Buhach’s first ever basketball staff appreciation night.
This special event initiated on Friday, February 2nd with a luncheon at Buhach Colony. The second portion of the event took place Friday, February 3rd and Tuesday, February 7th at the Thunder Dome at Buhach Colony. These two nights consisted of a ceremony before the basketball game began. All of the seniors on the men’s basketball team and the women’s basketball team chose a teacher that they thought inspired them. These teachers were then honored before the game. The teachers walked out with their student-athlete wearing or carrying a jersey of the student-athlete who chose them. The teachers were honored with kind words and a gift presented by the student-athletes. The men’s |
basketball team presented their teachers with basketballs that had their signatures and numbers on them. The women’s basketball team presented their teachers with miniature basketballs that were also signed. Soon after the ceremony ceased, the games began.
This was a new experience for both the staff and students. The students were very pleased with the new event. “This event was memorable for me and it feels like we started a new legacy,” stated Senior Jenny Zaragoza. Senior Tryston Salyers also stated, “I feel like it was very cool to participate and I think we should continue to do this because we have some amazing staff members that deserve to be recognized.” Students also thought this event meant something and needed to stay. Salyers on the importance of the Staff Appreciation Night: “This event is an amazing opportunity to show the teachers at this school that what they do really does matter to us. There are teachers at our school that take each day and use it to give each student an equal chance to learn and these are the teachers that stand out.” Staff members aren’t recognized enough and the students felt that nights like these are just as important as recognizing any student. |
Senior Krista Fregoso Hands Staff Member Leanne Lopez A Gift
Photo by: Mark Tanzillo |
The students had positive reactions to the Staff Appreciation Night, however, it was also the staff members who enjoyed the special nights. Teacher Lea Smith inputted, “Being honored by my students is amazing. It is nice to know that students appreciate the way I teach and/or that I have a connection with my students and I am able to help guide them through high school.” Teachers are all about helping their students succeed. Not only that but some staff members believe that it is more than just being thankful. Teacher Tim Ericksen shared, “Life, satisfaction, and thankfulness go hand-in-hand. Ironically, it is the person doing the thanking that gets the biggest reward.” Some teachers believe that we can improve and make Staff Appreciation Night even better. One idea from teacher Kris Freitas is to recognize more teachers. “Students in multiple sports select the same teacher for appreciation,” stated Freitas. He believes that Staff Appreciation is a tangible way for teachers to know that they have made an impact and more teachers should get the feeling. All in all it comes down to teachers love what they do and feel great when the know that they’ve made an impact. As Clerk Typist Angela Jackson stated, “For years I wondered what my calling was in life. It (being selected) confirms that I am doing what I am meant to do.”