NPHS celebrates first ever Student Appreciation Day
TOWAMENCIN- Students were surprised with NPHS’s first ever Student Appreciation Day this past Friday. Announced on the morning show that day, students were given the opportunity to enjoy a school day accented with activities and prizes.
“It was so much fun… I think this should be a tradition every year,” Ben Hartranft, a senior, said.
After walking to their classes in the hallways with music playing over the loudspeaker, students eagerly tuned into the announcement made at the beginning of each period to find out whether their friends or they themselves won a Chick-fil-a sandwich, meal, or gift card. Throughout the day, teachers awarded students who were caught spreading cheer in the hallways with gift card prizes. During all lunch periods, students had the opportunity to take pictures with the Chick-fil-a cow, play Kahoot with their friends, or enjoy music by DJ Noah Golden outside on an unusually warm day in February.
“[It’s] always a blessing to play for such a receptive crowd,” Goldens said. “I got to hang out with students all day, play music, party, and just have a good time with everyone… [It was] an opportunity to enjoy the nice weather and make some high school memories with friends…It was a blessing to maybe be able to put a smile on some people’s faces.”
Student appreciation day was an idea that started when Mr. Todd Bauer, NPHS’s principal, and Mr.Stefan Muller, Assistant Principal at NPHS, were chatting one morning while working out together.
“I already have Administrative Assistant’s Day, Custodian Worker Appreciation, and Assistant Principal Appreciation Week on my calendar… Everybody has a day except for kids,” said Bauer
Despite going through stress caused by his responsibilities as a principal, Bauer explained how students make his job worth it through simple acts of kindness.
“There are many days where the kids are the ones who get me through it,” Bauer explained. “Some of the things we need to deal with are very frustrating, whether they are phone calls or meetings or politics, and I will open my door and go for a walk and see 20 kids that say hello and smile at me.”
Bauer hoped that Student Appreciation Day would help students get through their day in the same way in which they help him.
“Every kid here has a unique story. Every kid has baggage that they bring to school… Life is not easy,” Bauer explained. “We realize that we have some challenges here at North Penn. We realize that some students haven’t behaved the way we expect them to behave, but I believe the solution to that is not detentions, suspensions, or punitive measures. It’s things like [Student Appreciation Day]. It’s to get kids to respect us, the adults in the building, the building itself, and one another… I’m hoping that goes a long way in helping to improve the culture here where people enjoy one another’s company.”
Overall, Student Appreciation Day was successful in helping the overall climate in NPHS feel more cheerful.
“It looked like everybody was having a good day,” Muller said. “It’s all simple stuff, but you can tell that students had fun.. I think everybody found something that they could hang their hat on.”
Check out the video below to watch students enjoying music by DJ Noah Golden during 7th period lunch: