It has been more important than ever for students to show gratitude to the staff this year and having a teacher appreciation breakfast is the perfect way to do so. On Thursday of Catholic Schools Week, the Providence chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS) modified their annual Teacher Appreciation breakfast to observe health precautions while still thanking the Upper School staff.
“I think it’s a really good idea,” said NHS advisor Mr. Adam Schmalzbauer, about the breakfast. Schmalzbauer also elaborated about the symbolism of the breakfast, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and teachers are very important in our society”.
NHS at Providence has been hosting the breakfast for over a decade. Teachers typically appreciate coming together as a faculty and visiting at the start of the school day, a custom they had to forego to maintain social distance. Consequently, this year it was even easier for teachers to stop by since the breakfast was more of a grab-and-go instead of a sit down affair. Not every NHS chapter honors teachers in this way, but Providence feels it is an important event in the life of the school.
Traditionally, NHS members served different types of pancakes, made fresh as the teachers walked into the room. However this year, the breakfast was catered in the Great Room, where a wide variety of baked goods were presented for the teachers, along with juice and water.
“It’s the same basis, just a little smaller and less hands-on the day of,” commented Sam Mahoney ‘21, who helped with the organizational efforts of the breakfast.
In addition to the breakfast, the NHS cohorts made thank-you posters for all the teachers, as in years past. Each poster is unique to the teacher, including the teacher’s name and some decorations that showcase what they teach or what their job is. The NHS students knew they had to keep up the tradition of the posters, especially with the loss of the pancakes.
“I always get a kick out of what the kids come up with for the posters,” Mrs. Karen Ostaffe enthused, a sentiment shared by many of her colleagues.
Much like what one eats in the morning can determine the direction of one’s day, Schmalzbauer quoted Plato: “The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future in life.”
This tradition gives PA students an opportunity to recognize staff’s efforts to point young lives in the right direction by returning the favor for teachers’ day.