Principal Appreciation Day- Gift Idea

The National Catholic Education Association Associate sets aside the Thursday before Thanksgiving as a day to recognize and appreciate the work that principals do in our Catholic schools across the nation.  This year's Principal Appreciation Day falls on November 20th, which is just a few days away.

I can't express how much I appreciate my boss.  Her leadership, hard work, and dedication to our school are an inspiration.  Just as a teacher sets the tone of a classroom, a principal sets the tone for an entire school.  Our staff and students traditionally recognize our principal with special "unannounced" visits to her office throughout the day with gifts and good wishes. 
Some of the typical gifts I have seen include:
-younger grades singing her a song
-spiritual bouquets, prayed and then written, signed, and framed 
-a special decorative plate created by a whole class
-collections of cards, letters, notes, and pictures
-giant cards signed by whole classes


Last year I wanted to try something different.  Our principal had just redecorated her office, so we thought a pretty piece of matching "artwork" would be nice.

First, I had all of the students create a list of ten adjectives or nouns that described our principal.
We then typed all of the lists (including all of the repeats) into a free online program called Tagxedo.  It is a lot like Wordle, but it has a huge amount of options when it comes to colors, fonts, backgrounds, and shapes.

We plugged all the words in, and then using the Smart Board, the class tried to come to a decision about our favorite layout.  We started with a heart:

But quickly moved on to this apple:

And kept experimenting with colors and layouts:

Until we created this one, which was by far the favorite:

I printed the picture in color and then matted it.  The kids and I all signed around the picture on the white mat and I added a little message with Happy Principal's Day, the date, and our grade.

We stuck it in a nice frame, wrapped it, and the kids enjoyed presenting it to her.

If you are looking for an idea to create a simple and inexpensive appreciate gift for Principal's Day or another important person, give Tagxedo a try!