Parties and Decorations: 2014

For all our teachers functions, we have covered the walls with Butcher Paper and then added our decorations on top. We have found that if you put one sheet up and duct tape it, then the other sheet up and cover the last row of duct tape with the paper and duct tape, it stays very well. We deal with the AC/Heating being turned off, and of coarse the lovely Texas humidity. All of which pull our paper down to the ground ripping our decorations. Taping each sheet has been a lesson well learned.

We only had one problem. We put 3 sheet up. The last sheet we rolled the tape behind the paper so it wouldn't show. Well the third sheet would full between decorating the night before and the mornings event.

Last year when we had Teachers Appreciation Week, we were able to borrow Film Decorations from After Prom. We used this as a board at the top. This allowed us to tape all sheets to the wall with a nonstop line of duct tape. It held for more than a week. Now the film being wrinkled up and foil, came down, but never had the destruction of all our decorations on the ground.

As we are working on our decorations for this years Teachers Appreciation Week, theme the 50's, we needed a border again. So excited to have a Record Border. Made a circle Template and template for the inside circle, and the poke a dot paint foam brush for the center. They were drawn out on Butcher Paper.

How we do our Teacher Appreciation Week

We chose what we want to have as a Food Theme for each day.

Monday-Breakfast Bar

Tuesday-Finger Foods

Wednesday-Candy/Dessert Bar

Thursday-? in junior high did Smoothie day

Friday-an actual Sit down luncheon.

Our doors open first thing in the morning. School is from 7:30-2:30, so we are open 7:30 to 2:00 Monday thru Thursday. Except on the Breakfast Bar, we serve at 6:45. On Friday, we only are open for serving lunch. Staff/Teachers can come in their off period, at lunch and every chance they get during the day. The only time there aren't people in the room as half way through last period.

So we plan to feed everyone the days feature and also have Cubed Cheese, Crackers, Dips, Nuts, Pretzels, Cut Veggies & Fruit over and above that. At junior high we also kept popcorn, but not doing that now.

How to Organize a Teachers Appreciation Week.

Pick a theme. And start with basic things you want to do. See who can you borrow from, and make the rest.
Plan a Menu
Start making Donation Calls
Contact Parents for things left to donate

Last year we did Teachers Appreciation Week with the theme Hollywood. Hard to believe this was the first ever in the history of the High School. First we had to find a room we could take over for 2 weeks. We booked the room for 2 weeks, but only decorated Wednesday after school, then all day Thursday and Friday.

Since we had done the theme at the Junior High, we got some items from them that we had made.

You can contact movie theaters for left over movie posters. In Junior High, when we had a PTO Budget we picked a movie theme for each day and actually purchased the posters. The sooner you start the more variety you will have to chose from.

One nice thing about High School is the After Prom resource. We contacted them and used some of their purchased decorations.

One not so good thing about High School, we don't have a PTO.

This Teachers Appreciation Week was done on a -0- Budget.

That's right we had no money, and everything was donated for 350 teachers and staff.

HUGE thank you to our Parents and Businesses for a very successful week!

When you plan a wedding, it is nice to have a year to plan it. Same with Teachers Appreciation Week. Right after we finish the event, I start coming up with Theme Ideas for the next one. Summer is slower with school out, so I try to make the decorations then. Not good at drawing? I started working with the PTO in the Elementary. Everything I did for our class was Blown Up Clip Art that was printed out. Not having painted before, I actually used glue sticks, crayons, markers, and colored pencils. (always have plenty of that around from the rock bottom prices at the beginning of school)

The school has always been very nice to let us use Butcher Paper they have. They will even order what ever color we need. The rolls they get are just over $30. Over coarse for this coming year, I wanted baby blue, and they got it at $130 a roll. When painting, I use Acrylic Paint, most of the time Apple Barrel. Walmart sells 2 oz bottles for $0.50. Items like I did for this event, mostly took a ruler. We had stars from someone else, so used them for templates. Circles-I go through every bowl I own. If it is really big, I use a ribbon tied around a pencil, and hold down one end and draw it.

What takes the longest is composing a list of business contacts and actually contacting them. I get more response if I start in January with contacting them so that is when I start. But I am always compiling my list year around. See my post on Donations and Fundraising. I will say I don't like to mail letters unless they request it. It cost money, and it doesn't get as much response. Fax, Email, and in person is the best. (finding that information out is what takes so much time)

Pictured here is part of the furniture that was donated by a business for the week. In the past, we had borrowed furniture. Haul it to the school, unload, set up, and of coarse return it.

This was AWESOME, the delivered the Friday before and picked up the week after!

No heavy lifting for us.

How do you get Business donations? You want their items.... they want exposure! Advertise to your school about them. Our Breakfast bar was completely donated for 350 staff members by Egg & I, along with other items from Kolache Factory & Starbucks. Parents didn't even have to donate food for Monday's all day food bar!

Hollywood sign and film were borrowed. Popcorn box was made out of boxes. All our decorations were made from Butcher Paper that the school lets us use for free. The paint was all donated for decorations, but for the whole room, it was under $40. The duct tape (Sam's industrial strength duct tape, is the BEST one) was all donated by a parent. Were should you borrow from? Elementary PTO usually has the most stuff. Junior High didn't have any decorations until we go there, but you can try them. After Prom parties are the bomb. They usually have a parent preview the night of at 8 here. See stuff you like, ask if you can have it when they are done, or borrow it from them. (they do they same thing though about borrowing items, since it is so big) One reason they like you borrowing, you have to be there at 6 am the next morning to take it down. One less thing for them to do!

Sorry I only got pictures while decorating, not at the actual event.

How we did the Advertising for Businesses: (tried to note all of it in the letter to the businesses)
*Food-Picture Frames on the tables in the room with who donated for the day. Also Picture Frames right outside the room. Just in case their is a line, you need something to do right?
*Goody Bags for Teachers/Staff-We did goody bags that were placed in the Teachers/Staff Boxes at the end of the week. If a business gave us 350 items, it went in their bags. If they did not, it went on the Promotional table in the room. These were Promotional Flyers advertising the business, coupons, and free item certificates. We had over 11 free items, over 5 coupons for everyone. Also we put a print out of all the businesses that donated with contact info and locations.
*Gifts-to qualify as a gift, it had to be completely free for the staff member. All our gifts were from $25 to $350. We were so close to having a gift for everyone, we fell 20 short. Their names were drawn, and they picked out prices based on the Business name on the outside. No sense giving them something that might not use.

More furniture donated for the week.

Everything in the goodie Bag

Our Ticket reminder that was in the hall the week before. We also put invitations in the staff mail boxes.
Our paparazzi/Media wall was placed in the main hall for all 3500 students to see along with staff. It was 9'x9'. Each star has a business card size info on businesses that donated. (logo, contact info, locations, etc)

I don't remember when these were put in teachers boxes, think it was mid-March. ( a month or less before event) At the high school level, there is so much testing in May. The only way we can do it is by moving it up before testing.

The flyer went in the Teacher Boxes the Friday (or the week before). In Elementary and Junior High, dress up days were big. It didn't go over well, but this was their first time EVER having this event. The Junior High Teachers got more in it the 2nd year we did it. (what was cool was each department had their own characters).

Here is a copy of the donation letter I used.

This is me trying to be organized. I don't think it went to badly. At the high school level, there were alot of staff that I had to work with. Building Calendar Coordinator for the dates. Library for the room. Head Principle's secretary to keep them in the loop and to get staff information. Assistant Principal that was over Custodial. Assistant Principal that was over Volunteers. School Wide Volunteer Coordinator to help send emails to as many parents as possible.

At our School, the Cafeteria staff is not considered staff because they are paid by the district. We include everyone! We had some stuff left over, so we contacted the bus barn for Bus Drivers counts and names. Also, we have alot of district employees coming and going from our campus, maintenance, police, etc. I try to hand invites out to them when I see them or just tell them when it is so they can stop by.

I will say, count for more than you need. Last year was the first year, our numbers ended up right on the dot. We had 325ish staff members when we started. So we asked for 350 of everything. 2 weeks before the event when we verified information and go a final list, we had 350 employees. The most ever in the building. We are a growing area, and I jokingly asked them not to hire anyone else until ask Teacher Appreciation Week.