As the backbone of the education system, teachers and school staff are responsible for shaping the minds of our future generations.
They work tirelessly every day, going above and beyond what’s expected to ensure their students receive a top notch education.
Your PTO knows the value of their contributions!
Celebrating all staff and teachers with a galactic star studded week of events is just the ticket for showing them how much you appreciate all they do for the school community.
Your staff is out of the world fantastic, so plan an entire week of events to celebrate them.
Here’s how to do just that and elevate the theme so it’s appropriate for adults and doesn’t feel too kid-like!
Decorations
Decorating in the theme of the week is a lovely way to set the tone and let all know that your PTO has really gone above and beyond to show the teachers and staff just how much you appreciate them!
Shroud the entrance to the Staff Lounge with this metallic curtain so that all who enter feel like they’ve been transported to another world on the other side of the door.
Cover the walls with this iridescent garland to add fun colors throughout the entire room.
Just think of how gorgeous this would look when light hits the stars and moons. Swoon!
Surprise them even more by decorating the ceiling, or at least using it to suspend pretty things from!
These paper lanterns are super gorgeous and blend well with all of the other decoration options highlighted in this post.
Add some planet swirls for a layered, varied look.
Finish off the space above the room with some intermixed gold swirly decorations.
In anticipation of events throughout the week, set up the table decorations right from the start.
Cover the table with a disposable table cloth to not only make post-event clean up a snap, but protect the space and add the first layer of decor to the table.
If there’s an outlet nearby, stage a few of these light up stars on the table or on counters along the room’s edge.
Sprinkle these stars randomly along the table top and add some to the walls our cabinet doors.
Then sprinkle on this star confetti over the entire table, concentrating the bulk of the sprinkle over the middle of the table.
The Daily Plan for Staff Appreciation Week
Monday: Coffee Bar
Inject some power into the week with a coffee bar for all to enjoy!
This post has everything you need to know about setting up a delicious coffee bar, outfitted for everything a java lover would want.
If you have a food element for your coffee bar, have some small plates available to catch crumbs and keep the space tidy.
Tuesday: Luncheon
Kick off Tuesday of Staff Appreciation Week with a sonic boom by providing a wonderful luncheon for all teachers and staff.
The menu for the event should include items that are easy to eat and that will appeal to a wide range of tastes.
Here are some ideas for a themed menu:
- Star-shaped sandwiches
- All-star fruit salad
- Galaxy trail mix
- Star-studded cupcakes
- Stellar sugar cookies
Follow through with the space theme of the week by using cosmic themed plates for the luncheon.
Prefer a more cosmic looking plate and not so starry? How about this style of galaxy plates for the lunch buffet?
You can’t have enough napkins whenever serving food, so be sure to have extra on hand.
Wednesday: Personalized Note
Delight each staff member with a personalized note in their mailbox at the start of the day!
Don’t underestimate just how much a note of thanks can go to communicate your gratitude.
This small gesture will really go over amazingly well with the staff and teachers.
Here are a few space or star themed note card options:
This set of blank notecards features different galactic images that are really quite striking.
And this thank you notecard set is more neutral, but still carries the star theme through.
Skip licking the envelopes to seal them and instead use a piece of washi tape instead!
Thursday: Dessert Bar
Dessert Bar: No staff appreciation event is complete without a delicious dessert bar.
Here are some ideas for a starry themed dessert bar:
- Star-shaped sugar cookies, Rice Krispies or brownies
- Chocolate covered pretzel rods dipped in gold or silver sprinkles
- Cosmic decorated cake pops
- Mini eclairs topped with gold star sprinkles
- Cupcakes
Use a cookie cutter to quickly transform any bar dessert into a star shaped treat.
This set of star cutters ensures you’ll have the exact size you need to make the most treats possible.
Top off the cupcakes with these fun cupcake toppers.
And don’t forget to add some fun sprinkles!
Give staff the option to take their treats to go by providing individual treat boxes for them to tote their goodies home to enjoy later.
For those choosing to stay and enjoy on site, these dot plates are a sophisticated paper option.
The confetti sprinkles on these napkins kind of echo the scattering of stars visible on clear nights and is a subtle way to tie in to the outer space theme.
Friday: Gift Bags
One of the best ways to show appreciation to teachers and school staff is through thoughtful gifts.
Load up a clear gift bag and pack it full of treats to delight your teachers and staff to close out the week of outer space fun!
Or if you’d rather hide what’s inside to keep the contents a surprise for a little bit longer, these starry bags are a great choice!
Here are some ideas for what to put inside the gift bags:
Rainbow suckers are a nice little treat that the staff can enjoy whenever.
Encourage the teachers to blow away their stress into the outer atmosphere with these destress bubbles!
For those days when the world seems like too much, they’ll appreciate having an earth shaped stress ball to take out their frustrations on!
This star shaped highlighter would be a fun addition to the gift bags.
People working in schools always seem to need sticky notes, so these star shaped stickies would come in super handy and be appreciated for sure.
Over to You!
Planning a staff appreciation event, let alone an entire week of celebrations is a lot to arrange, but so well worth it in the end.
Hope you now have a ton of ideas and inspiration to show your school team how out of this world phenomenal they are!
Remember that whatever you do to express your appreciation for your school’s staff and teachers, know that it’s wonderful, whether you do one event or an entire week!
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