Volunteer Appreciation Reception

 A grade 6 student presenting a gift to one of the school’s most valued volunteers – Sr. Ruth Aney, SSMI. Sr. Ruth generously volunteers her time and experience in the Sadochok / Kindergarten room.

 

Parent volunteers are one of the most important resources a school can have. Both public and private schools depend heavily on their volunteers to keep things running smoothly, but because private schools enjoy less government funding than public schools, they perhaps have a greater appreciation for the assistance that parent volunteers provide.

 

Volunteers awaiting the beginning of the program

 

Parent volunteers have always been an important part of the successful operation of IHMS. Among other things, parent volunteers provide rides to field trips, organize hot lunches (such as hot-dog day), coach some of the school’s sports teams, help out with Bingo, and organize some of the larger school events such as the Annual School Tea, the Annual Fund Raising Dinner, and the Family Picnic.

 

Why Volunteer?

.
As stated on the 2018 – 2019 “Student Re-registration Information” form, families attending Immaculate Heart of Mary School are encouraged to volunteer and fund raise for two reasons
  1. To build community within the school
  2. To raise funds for the school to keep tuition rates as low as possible
Ironically, volunteering at IHMS is not voluntary – it’s compulsory. Parents who choose not to volunteer are responsible for paying a $375.00 “non-volunteer fee” at the beginning of the school year.
.

 

 

To celebrate the efforts of these hard working volunteers, IHMS held a “Volunteer Appreciation” program on Thursday, April 19th from 2:00 – 4:30 pm in the school gym. The theme of the event was “IHMS Volunteers are the Best Aid”. Since volunteering is a requirement for enrolment at IHMS, invitations to the event were sent out to every family in the school.

 

The program began at 2:00 pm with a greeting and a thank-you to the volunteers from the school’s principal, Mr. Picklyk, followed by an opening prayer.

 

 Mr. Picklyk, the school’s principal, was the MC for the Volunteer Appreciation Program

 

Thank you messages were also conveyed on behalf of the students by Donovan M., the student council president, and on behalf of the staff by Miss Bacon, one of the school’s two Educational Assistants.

 

Student council president Donovan M. (top photo) conveyed gratitude to the parent volunteers on behalf of the students of IHMS, and Miss Bacon, one of the school’s two Educational Assistants did the same thing on behalf of the staff of IHMS (bottom photo).

 

Students also played a direct role in the Volunteer Appreciation Program. Every year, either the odd or the even numbered grades are responsible for putting together a short presentation to thank the parent volunteers for their efforts. Since this was a year for even numbered grades, the grade 2, 4, 6, and 8 classes either sang a song or recited a poem, or found some other way of saying “thank you” to the parent volunteers.

​

 The grade 2 class expressing their appreciation to the parent volunteers
 .
.
.
The grade 4 class expressing their appreciation to the parent volunteers
 .
 .
.
.
The grade 6 class expressing their appreciation to the parent volunteers
.
 .
..
 
The grade 8 class expressing their appreciation to the parent volunteers

 

Near the end of the program, two students from each class presented a small gift to all the volunteers. The gifts are different every year, and this year’s gift was a small first-aid kit.

 

This year’s volunteer appreciation gift was a small first-aid kit (top photo), and a student presenting one of these gifts to a parent volunteers (bottom photo).

 

After the presentation of the gifts, everyone sang “Mnohiya Lita” before the students were dismissed back to their classrooms.

 

The students sang “Mnohiya Lita” to the parents before heading back to their classrooms

 

Parent volunteers remained behind in the gym to enjoy a light snack of catered food and drink. Although the reception was scheduled to continue until 4:30 p.m..all of the volunteers left by 3:30 p.m., hopefully feeling appreciated!

 

 The volunteers seemed to enjoy the food platters prepared by Naleway Caterers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back To Top