As soon as I arrived at my school, I told all my invited teachers not to forget that it was Teachers Appreciation Day! After school, I got dressed in a clean uniform and I felt excited that I would be able to perform in front of my teachers. I went to the house of worship, where the event would be held, and I was surprised that Ms Gillooly, Ms. Balendran, Ms. Mac and Mrs. Cox were already there.
I went straight to them and warmly greeted my teachers. I saw people at the chapel gallery, while some were busy preparing the refreshments. Overall, it was a great place to be – everyone was smiling and teachers were entertained by the students. Finally, it was time to settle down because the program was about to start. I felt nervous and waited patiently with the other kids.
For the opening number, we sang the song ‘Never Turn Away’. I saw my teachers’ facial expressions, and they seemed happy and impressed with our performance. That gave me a feeling of relief and joy because we sang with all our hearts!
There were a few more songs performed by the older children. All were meaningful songs because they were taken from our Church music albums. I think it also helped that the lyrics were shown on the TV monitor because I could see teachers reading them at the same time. When we were not performing, we would either clap or dance along to the music. It was fun!
Another great part of the event was playing a game where we would guess some Filipino words that made it the Oxford Dictionary. The teachers watched a short video about these words that were flashed up along with their meanings. Whoever answered the correct Filipino terms would win an INCGiving bag! I was impressed by how attentive the teachers were during the game, kind of how we must look when they are teaching us!
“When Jordan invited me to Teacher Appreciation Day I was both humbled and honored. The confidence and dedication shown by the children as they performed was inspiring. It’s moments like these that remind me why I chose to go into teaching in the first place. Having an impact and making a difference in the lives of young people is what teaching is all about, and these children really did make me feel appreciated. What a special and worthwhile event! I can’t wait for next year!” – from Georgina, Teacher
For our finale number, we danced with excitement to the tune of ‘All Around The World’. Then, it was time to hand-out certificates to our teachers for helping us with our education. Before receiving the certificate, each student got to meet their teacher at the front and give them their very own ‘No.1 Teacher’ badge as a souvenir. Then, we had our pictures taken, and I think we all felt very proud that day! When the event was over, I was happy with myself that I was able to give something back to my teachers in my own special way.
Thanks to the Church and INCGiving for making it happen!
Contributed by: Jordan Sison, UK
