Bard School

Faculty Appreciation Dinner report

One hour before the parent/teacher conferences on 11/9/2011, parents showed their appreciation to the BHSEC faculty in the tastiest way possible.  Teachers were treated to a delightful buffet dinner of various dishes, desserts and beverages in a beautifully decorated setting in the school cafeteria.  The flower bouquets and electronic candles interleaved bottles of sparkling and still water on tables arranged in a U-formation.

While a four member jazz band infused the room with scat and relaxing tunes for a full hour, BHSEC faculty entered into a space that was more like a bistro than a school cafeteria.  They had a great time and a good meal after a long day teaching.  The spread resembled a 12-foot segment of the famous Hogwarts dinner table in a Harry Potter movie.  From the smiles on the teachers’ faces, and from the looks and nods of acknowledgement, one would say the food was even as delicious if not more.

After the teachers complemented their meal with desserts from the sweeter section of the buffet, they conveyed their immense gratitude to all the parents. In the hour or so that they were in the cafeteria, they relaxed and recharged;  as they walked back to their respective rooms, they were clearly ready for the conferences.

So how did this dinner come together?

Rewind 6 days to 11/3 when an email from the BHSEC PTA went out to parents asking for food contributions and for help.  Lead organizer and PTA Co First VP, Fabiana Carbo-Chavez received parent emails telling her the food donations they’re sending and that they want to volunteer and help set up and clean up.

On 11/9 Fabiana confirmed that the buffet needed more variety and quantity so another email went out; again parents responded generously.  Some parents whose children could not bring in a dish to school, or had no spare time to prepare one, sent monetary donation to Ms. Turitz in support.  Even more parents volunteered to help decorate, set up the tables and chairs, arrange the food buffet, and clean up when the event was over.  Everyone gave in a way that was convenient to them.

All the time Fabiana was organizing this event, she was worried that she was going to miss it if her daughter’s volleyball team had to play that evening.  Enter PTA Co Treasurer and Bardware sales woman extraordinaire, Jean Chan; she stepped forward to help.  At 3:00 pm, we were lucky that both Fabiana and Jean were present, flanked by a handful of parents who rushed to transform the cafeteria in only one hour before the faculty dinner.  Evelyn, Ms. Turitz, and Brian helped the volunteers tremendously, and shared with them their institutional knowledge of the facility.  At exactly 4:00 pm, 65 teachers arrived and helped themselves to the various treats.  They sat face to face along the U-shaped table formation, savoring the various flavors and tapping their feet underneath the table to the beat of live jazz.

Good organization, team effort of the volunteers and the generosity of the BHSEC parents were key to the success of this event.

Thanks to all who gave and helped to make this event successful.  We look forward to doing this next time, with fresh and repeat ideas, and help from even more parents.