Show 'Em the Love at Greenbelt Elementary School

The invitation was intriguing: "Buffet lunch at 'Base Camp.'" For a group of dedicated educators and staff, this wasn't about loading up on carbs before a mountain summit.

"Base Camp," aka the Teachers' Lounge, was a veritable feast of delicious foods intended for the hard-working teachers, staff, bus drivers and crossing guards who serve the Greenbelt community.

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week at is serious business. By the end of the week a lot of love and appreciation will be doled out. Today, it was a buffet that included baked ziti, meatballs in sauce, rolls, salad, and sweets. And each day through Friday, the teachers and staff will be lavished with tokens of gratitude like massages, special gifts and breakfast.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking? I knew I should have completed my teaching certification or signed up for that bus driving course. Drat!

Lauren Rankle, chairperson of the PTA's Hospitality Committee, said the week's events originally consisted of just lunch and goodie bags for only the teachers.

"It was really only three years ago that the then-PTA president, Anne Gardner, rolled the rest of the staff (custodians, cafeteria workers, office staff) in with the Teacher Appreciation Week, and only last year that I also incorporated the bus drivers and crossing guards."

Rankle said Gardner should be credited with expanding the events to include breakfast; last year, Rankle's first year with the school, she added sundaes and baked goods to the list of offerings. She noted that the Hospitality Committee was newly formed this year; she agreed to take the lead after she was asked by PTA president Lucy Dirksen.

"Our Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week has been taken to a whole new level," Greenbelt Elementary School Principal Kim Seidel said. "She [Rankle] comes from a family of teachers, so she knows well.

Teachers and staff began filtering into the Teachers' Lounge shortly after 10:30 a.m., commenting on the table decorations and the aromatic smells emanating from the meatballs.

"They're just so wonderful about remembering us. I for one appreciate it," Karen Lewis, a paraprofessional, said.

Both Rankle and Melinda Brady, co-organizer for Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week, agreed that the week's events are designed to show gratitude — to validate a job well done.

"The Greenbelt community is particularly good at being appreciative," Rankle said, adding, "It's a school-wide, national movement to recognize and appreciate all of the things they do during the year. I feel very strongly about the event."

Brady, nodded in agreement, said, "They're not getting pay raises. They're trying to do more with less and doing an awesome job."

Lauren Rankle and Melinda Brady would like to acknowledge the following sponsors: Three Brothers in conjunction with Beltway Plaza Developers/Quantum Management provided the baked ziti, meatballs in sauce, bread and butter, salad and dressing. Three different Greenbelt ES parents/families (Celeste May, Amy Hansen and the Lewis Family) donated desserts, brownies, cupcakes, and cookies.