RES welcomes teachers with VIP celebration
PHOTOS BY ALISON JAMES Rising sixth graders who served on the fifth-grade student council were on hand to welcome RES teachers back to school and show their appreciation.
Rebecca Calvert and her fellow Russellville Elementary School teachers received the VIP treatment last week as they were welcomed back to school. RES administrators rolled out the red carpet and celebrated teachers hard work with a breakfast for stars.
Rising sixth grade students greeted teachers at the door flourishing posters with messages of appreciation, after which each teacher received a button proclaiming, “My boss thinks I’m kind of a big deal,” before entering the “VIP entrance” and walking the red carpet to their meeting room.
RES Principal Kristie Ezzell said the party was held for good reason.
“We changed everything last year – schedules, the way we teach, to better meet the needs of our students,” Ezzell said. “Our teachers just adapted. They took stuff home every night. They stayed up here until late – if you came by my parking lot at 6 o’clock, it was full. They put a lot of time into what they were doing. Our test results showed that, and so we feel like it’s time to celebrate them.”
Teachers were offered 100 Grand candy bars in thanks for “making Russellville Elementary School GRAND!” in a classroom bedecked with posters of inspirational phrases as they enjoyed their VIP breakfast.
“We just wanted to create a positive environment as our teachers start back to school and let them know that we appreciate them and the wonderful job they do – not just with test scores but every day,” assistant principal Paula Young said. “We wanted to really celebrate them.”
The theme and décor were dreamed up by counselor Michelle Murray, who said she took inspiration from Pinterest.
“Our teachers work so hard all year and are constantly giving of themselves for their students,” Murray said. “We just thought we would give back to our teachers and let it be about them today.”
