You could say Annandale High School staff were touched by students’ thoughtfulness during Teacher Appreciation Week. About 25 teachers and some other staff members signed up for massages Friday, May 9, arranged by five student organizations. “Ahhhhh!” music director Mark Nelson commented after a chair massage. “That is so worth it,” principal Dick Ofstedal said on emerging from a table massage, his first. “As a staff we sure appreciate them thinking of us.”
Good feelings
“It felt great,” added English teacher Mary Gilbertson after experiencing her first chair massage. And Larry Stroh, physical education and driver education teacher, found a few minutes on the table relaxing. The 10- or 15-minute sessions featured mood lighting and chamber music, student council president Andy Burklund said. “It’s all set for a few minutes of relaxation.” The student groups split the $200 cost, he said. They were the Business Professionals of America, National Honor Society, student council, Key Club and TARGET. “They do a lot for us so we try and give something back to them,” Burklund said. “I truly believe we have some of the best teachers in the state right here in this school.” The AHS theme for Teacher Appreciation Week was: “Teaching touches minds, shapes, futures.” Burklund said he came across the massage idea in a leadership magazine story about a school in the South that had tried it. The Annandale Family Chiropractic Center “gave us a great deal,” he said, sending over two massage therapists for the price of one for a three-hour period. On the lighter side, student organizers joked about “giving teachers a helping hand,” Burklund said. The student council also treated teachers to a more traditional gift of rolls and juice on Wednesday, May 7.
