Principal Appreciation Day is May 3, and what better way to show your school leaders how thankful you are for their support and guidance than with a thoughtful gift from your students? We’re sharing nine Principal Appreciation Day ideas from students that you can replicate in your classroom to create a one-of-a-kind keepsake or experience for your administrators:
Whether your students love to write, draw, act, or learn, choose a Principal Appreciation Day activity that sparks their interest and creativity with one of these ideas:
Saying thank you to someone can be one of the simplest—but most effective—ways to show you care. Have students write a thank you note to their principal while also teaching them about the main idea and key details of a text in the same lesson:
Surprise your administrators when they arrive at school on Principal Appreciation Day and do their rounds of the building by decorating the doors and hallways to celebrate. Some options may include:
Organize a special Principal Appreciation Day assembly to share your thanks and students' talents. Play and presentation options might include:
You can invite the principal to your classroom for this presentation, or get the whole grade or school involved by hosting the event in the gym or auditorium with all classes invited or participating.
Give your principal a gift they can look back on and remember your class with a quote or memory book. Students can write their favorite quote or memory of their principal and you can put them together in a book. Students may each create their own page and you can bind the book together, or you can use a photo book creation service to create a polished finished product.
Like the idea but want to modify it for the digital age? Create a video memory book instead. You can even use Formative to have students create and share their submissions!
Have your students show off their artistic talents by creating portraits of your principal for door or hall decorating, or as part of their memory book. Some creative options students might try include:
Everybody might not love flowers, but you can’t go wrong with a Principal Appreciation Day bookmark bouquet. Ask students to create bookmarks for their principal and then you can gather them up into a bouquet to share. Try one of these bookmark ideas:
Most students know the principal is the school's leader, but they don’t actually know what a principal does all day. Invite the principal to your classroom for a “career day” talk with your students. Encourage students to prepare questions ahead of time to ask things like:
In elementary school especially, students love to get special visitors in the classroom. Ask your principal to come read their favorite children’s book to your students on Principal Appreciation Day. Then you can have your students present them with a gift (like the bookmark bouquet!) after the story.
Donations are another fun way for students to show gratitude. Find out your principal’s favorite book or children’s book and get a copy to donate to the school library. If your school doesn’t have a library, you can donate it to your local library. Be sure to ask the librarian to include a sticker with the dedication to your principal from your class.
Then, you can invite your principal to the classroom on Principal Appreciation Day and present the book or a certificate of dedication for the book to them as a gift.
In the Newselaverse, you can find a variety of voices from teachers, administrators, and instructional coaches. Join now to start collaborating and collecting ideas for Principal Appreciation Day!
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