One of our most popular events amongst our staff on the Yew Chung International School of Beijing calendar is the annual Teacher Appreciation Lunch. This end of term potluck lunch is organized by members of the YCIS Beijing Parent Organization (PO) for the teachers, with the help of the school’s Support and Maintenance team  and Amber Dang, Community Relations Officer to show the parents’ appreciation to all teachers for their dedication and hard work throughout the year.

A multitude of appetizers, entrees and desserts from the different countries representing the multicultural nature of our school were prepared by parents and served to teachers and staff members alike. Culinary contributions by parents volunteers represented our school’s deeper understanding and respect of other cultures as the buffet was a melting pot of dishes from Asia, North America and Europe.

According to Jackie Park, active PO member at YCIS Beijing, gratitude should be expressed to our teachers because: 

“They pour their patience, dedication, attention and probably to me, most importantly, their empathy and their love, to our kids who aren't with us but we know are in trustworthy hands.”

This year, the Teacher Appreciation Lunch was undertaken solely by parents with no involvement from the learners as they have Teacher’s Day to take part in. The celebration also included music, flowers and gifts for all to enjoy.

Teachers and staff at YCIS Beijing appreciated the generous  gesture by the parents and for Freda Humber, Performing Arts teacher who experienced Teacher Appreciation Lunch at YCIS Beijing for the first time, believes the tradition should continue as she particularly enjoyed mingling with other teachers and parents. But the highlight of the day for her was of course, the food:

“My favourite was the big pot of chicken stew.  I cook myself, so I appreciate the effort that went into preparing the dishes and it was wonderful to be able to enjoy such a lovely meal that I didn’t have to prepare myself!”

The lunch was obviously popular amongst teachers as according to Jenny Chu, a member of the PO:

“Teachers were very happy. They even asked if we could host this kind of event every week.”