PHS students thank staff for work throughout pandemic

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Students at Prairie High School expressed their gratitude to the staff for the work they completed in a challenging year during its annual Inspire Week.

Staff members were greeted by students at the door, while their peers posted encouraging sticky notes to bathroom mirrors or placed hearts on doors with encouraging messages, stated a news release.

Others created cards and brought gifts that were given to counselors, secretaries and security workers.

A “thank you” banner was placed in the cafeteria to acknowledge nutrition support staff who made extra meals during school breaks and over the summer months.

Another banner for custodial staff who worked to clean and sanitize the school was also featured.

The ideas on how to thank the staff members were generated by the students, stated the release.



“Leaders pop up and creativity pops up and I just help organize it and make sure it all gets done,” said social studies teacher Dawn Rowe. “I feel like if you give them ownership, they can do it.”

Inspire Week has been held for three years, but it looked different this year because of the pandemic.

In a typical year, the week focuses on “students uplifting other students,” stated the release.

It was originally started in 2019 by the Crimson Crew and is now part of a new class at PHS known as Applied Psychology.

“It’s part of the curriculum now, so I don’t have to try and figure out how to make Inspire Week work,” Rowe said. “Now the kids can all do it. They come up with all the ideas and then they do it and I just coach them along the way.”