APPRECIATION WEEK 2026

Monday 5/4

Students will return their “yellow bricks” of gratitude on or before Monday, 5/4 to their home room teacher. The PTO will use these “bricks” to build our Yellow Brick Road of Gratitude mural.

Feed them: Help stock up the staff room and treat trolley with goodies. Bake? Buy? Whip something up? Sign up to contribute! The teachers and staff look forward to enjoying this treat every time!

Students can bring their teacher's favorite snack, candy or treat (MAY 8th) to stock up their personal classroom "cafe".

Inspire them: Expressions of gratitude do not have to be costly to show teachers and staff that they are valued. We will have a specific day dedicated to giving heartfelt cards, notes, letters, or a picture from your Eagle artist, thanking them for all that they do (MAY 9th). Remind them how much they matter.

Then on MAY 10th your student can bring their teacher a flower, veggies from their garden, seeds or a picture. Need seeds? The Graham Public Library has a free seed library.

Spoil them: Want to send them something extra special on MAY 11th but not sure where to start?

We've asked the teachers and staff to complete a new Staff Favorites Guide to inspire you.

Show them: Your student can dress in red, on MAY 12th, to show unity, support and how together they make an AWEsome team.

Treat them: Last year the staff played a week long game of Survivor run by the AWE Admin team, completing fun and silly challenges and earning prizes. This year, they are at it again! The PTO supports by collecting prizes, lots of them, small and LARGE. If you are interested in donating a product, service, or gift certificate for the game, let us know! Donations should be sent in by May 5th. Let us know if we can provide you with a tax-deductible receipt for your donation.

We made picking out small prize items extra easy this year by setting up a Target Registry. Consider donating a $5 gift card or an item off the wish list. Bring it directly to the school or order online and send it to us, we'll do the rest!

We have been so fortunate to have companies and individuals donating towards some of the large prizes, including Let's Roam, the Carolina Inn, Green & McClure Furniture, the NC Theatre, the NC Symphony and more. Check out the picture carousel for all our contributors and links to their websites.