With enough quarantine restrictions lifted for on-campus festivities, Grades 6-12 Monarchs physically commemorated the contributions of the school’s Non-Teaching Employees (NTE) through special appreciation assemblies in the Luxembourg Hall from February 13-14, 2023.
Marking the first onsite observation of NTE Day since 2020, the Student Council-coordinated event saw the classes of Luxembourg Campus appreciate and reward their assigned NTEs through on-the-spot gift-giving, face-to-face fun games, and live performance numbers.
“We really tried our best to engage both NTEs and students to enjoy the event. From that, we prepared numerous intermission numbers and games for their entertainment,” said Student Council President Myung Jun ‘MJ’ Yoo.
“The switch from online to face-to-face was somehow a lot [more] difficult than what I expected as I experienced both, but now I believe that we facilitated our event successfully,” he added, remarking on the transition from hosting virtual to onsite celebrations.
As it coincided with the week of Valentine’s Day, Monarchs were encouraged to celebrate the love season by supporting their NTEs “for all their hard work done throughout the year.” Juniors and Seniors attended separate appreciation days following their respective morning assembly schedules.
40 personnel from all branches of Southville’s non-academic staff (Accounting, Administration, Altaserv staff, Clinic, Human Resources, Public Relations, Security, and Scholars) attended the celebration and received gratitude awards from the students through the institutional Token Giving segment.
Some of the gifts provided by each class included food packs, clothes, personal essentials, and money envelopes. President Yoo commented that he “actually didn’t expect all of those massive gifts to the NTEs, but [in] return, I hope that everyone developed their Southville community belongingness.”
The school staffers took part in fun games: Pinoy Henyo, which pitted NTEs guessing Valentine’s-related objects as implied by the students; Karaoke, where contestants completed the chorus of a given song by singing it; and Jack En Poy, a fast-paced Filipino version of rock-paper-scissors. The winners received additional prizes from the school itself.
A raffle draw provided by the Student Council at the event’s tail-end also contributed to extra prize winnings for the non-academic personnel.
Members of the SISC community carried out performance numbers to entertain the NTE recipients. The Relevé Dance Club performed “OMG” by New Jeans in its first major campus presentation, while some of the NTEs themselves danced trending TikTok songs.
Tribute videos prepared by the Class Council presidents and their students flooded the hall, with messages of praise, recognition, and acknowledgment echoing throughout the venue. NTEs watched their presentation intently as it capped off the student-organized festivities.
NTE Day is an annual school event where Southville’s non-academic school personnel are recognized for their supportive and foundational contributions to the school community. The event was twice held online and with limited NTEs during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the author:
Comments