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| A sadochok student presenting a gift to one of the school’s volunteers |
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.
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.
To celebrate the efforts of these hard working volunteers, IHMS held a “Volunteer Appreciation” program on Thursday, April 21st from 2:00 – 4:30 pm in the school gym. The theme of the event was “IHMS Volunteers are a Work of Heart”.
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| Students and parent volunteers assembled in the gym for the Volunteer Appreciation Program |
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 and a thank-you to the volunteers by the school’s principal, Mr. Picklyk, followed by an opening prayer by the school’s director and Sadochok / Kindergarten teacher, Sr. Anne Pidskalny.
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| Mr. Picklyk (top photo) and Sr. Anne Pidskalny (bottom photo) |
Thank you messages were also conveyed on behalf of the students by Nina H., the student council president, and on behalf of the staff by Mrs. Stanowych, the school’s Music teacher.
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| Student council president Nina H. (top photo) and Music teacher Mrs. Stanowych (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 odd numbered grades, the grade 1, 3, 5, and 7 classes either sang a song or recited a poem, or found some other way of saying “thank you” to the parent volunteers.
- The grade 1 students sang “Thank You Volunteers”
- The grade 3 students sang “Yummy Yum Yum”
- The grade 5 students recited the poems “The Volunteer Gift”, “Volunteering”, and “The Volunteer”
- The grade 7 students sang “Lean on Me”
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| The grade 1’s singing “Thank You Volunteers” |
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| The grade 3’s singing “Yummy Yum Yum” |
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| The grade 5’s reciting the poems “The Volunteer Gift”, “Volunteering”, and “The Volunteer” |
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| The grade 7’s singing “Lean on Me” |
In addition, the grade 8’s (accompanied by several grade 6 students), sang a few songs on guitar: “My Heart Will Go On”, “Stand By Me”, and “Dust in the Wind”.
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| The grade 8’s singing “My Heart Will Go On”, “Stand By Me”, and “Dust in the Wind” |
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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 custom made cloth bag labelled “Volunteers are a Work of Heart” along with the school’s name and website address. |
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| A student posing with this year’s gift (a cloth bag) before presenting it to a parent volunteer |
After the presentation of the gifts, everyone sang “Mnohiya Lita” before the students were dismissed back to their classes.
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The volunteers remained behind to socialize with each other at a reception in the gym, hopefully feeling acknowledged and appreciated.
