SUMMARY OF RESOURCES (all are .PDF files)
Poem: "Tichurem Mifavoritidus"
Song: "A Tribute to Teachers (and
Elvis)", ladies trio (52 kB)
Song: "Part of Me", for (young)
womens choir (42 kB)
Teacher nomination form
Invitation and RSVP
form
Full Program
Certificate of Appreciation
Emcee notes
Teacher introduction notes
INVITATIONS
Four months before the date of the event, we handed out nomination
forms to all the youth and primary kids in the ward. We invited
all the teachers that were turned in; each person was allowed to nominate
only one teacher. We sent out invitations
with RSVP forms and self-addressed,
stamped envelopes to over 40 teachers and 26 said they would come.
Most used the stamped envelope, others called in, and others needed to
be contacted in person because they didn't RSVP.
PROGRAM
As teachers came in the church they were greeted by a youth and escorted to a nametag table to meet their student and his/her family, eventually making their way into the chapel for the program. The emcee began the program (see emcee notes) by introducing the opening prayer and the humorous poem, "Tichurem Mifavoritidus." Then after a brief explanation of the purpose of the event, he first introduced an entertaining volunteer speaker who talked for only 5 minutes about some of his memorable teachers. Then came the song, "A Tribute to Teachers (and Elvis)," a light-hearted medley of Elvis songs with words expressing gratitude for teachers.
After the song, the teachers were honored individually by stating some facts about each teacher along with comments about the teacher from the nominating student. The youth and primary kids whose teachers couldn't come to the event were chosen to make the presentations--here are some sample presentation notes. The notes were obtained mostly from the RSVP forms and the nomination forms, but many kids were too brief on the nomination forms and needed to be contacted for more information after we knew their teacher would be coming. As the teacher's name was read at the end of his/her little tribute, the teacher and nominating student would stand, and one of several primary kids (whose teachers couldn't come) would walk to where the teacher was standing and deliver a certificate.
After the teacher presentations, the emcee gave a brief biography about
our guest speaker, a dean at one of the local high schools. The speaker
spoke for 7-10 minutes and was followed by another song, "Part
of Me," a two-part number sung by the Young Women. After this
was the closing prayer, and then the dividers were opened up so people
could move into the gym.
RECEPTION
We had some nice refreshments and a few tables with decorations for
the reception. Two youth went around with Polaroid cameras to photograph
each teacher and student. The photos were quickly mounted on simple
yet elegant frames made by the young women and then returned to the teacher.
Copies of the poem were made available.
Please contact me if you would like more information.