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 even organize larger school events such as the Annual School Tea, the Annual Fund Raising Dinner, and the Family Picnic.
To celebrate the efforts of these hard working volunteers, IHMS held a ???Volunteer Appreciation??? program on Thursday, April 26th from 2:00 – 4:30 pm in the school gym. The theme of the event was ???At IHMS Everyone Grows???.
Since volunteering is a requirement for enrolment at IHMS, invitations to the event were sent out to every family in the school. (Note: Parents who choose not to volunteer are responsible for paying a $350.00 ???non-volunteer fee??? at the beginning of the school year).
The program began at 2:00 pm with a greeting by Mr. Picklyk and a prayer by Sr. Anne.
Greetings were also conveyed on behalf of the students by Adrianna K. (the student council president), and on behalf of the staff by Mrs. Laird, the school???s French and Enrichment teacher.
This year, the grade 1, 3, 5, and 7 classes prepared either a poem, song, or skit for the Volunteer Appreciation program.
Grade 1: ORPH chant – ???Volunteers???
Grade 3: Poems – ???Volunteers??? and ???Our Appreciation???
Grade 5: Poem – ???What Would we do Without Volunteers???
Grade 7: Skit – ???Volunteer Vocabulary???
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 potted pansy.
After the presentation of the gifts, everyone sang ???Mnohiya Lita??? before the students were dismissed back to their classes. The volunteers remained behind to socialize with each other at a reception in the gym, hopefully feeling acknowledged and appreciated.
