Project Acknowledgement 2012

In August 2012, the 3rd Saints Advocate Project Acknowledgement task force initiated their project in school to acknowledge the hard work of the non-teaching staff - janitors, canteen staff, lab technicians and security guards - and to say a big 'Thank You' to them. The task force created heart montages for each group of our Unsung Heroes, from pieces of jigsaw that the students wrote on and designed. Beside expressing our gratitude to the staff who work hard behind the scenes, it was also a warm reminder to be grateful for the people in our lives.

Project acknowledgement was a great learning experience for me as it taught me how important it is to show appreciation for and recognize the hard work of others; every “thank you" that we can easily say would go a long way in touching the life of another.

Words of thanks from the entire student body to our Unsung Heroes

Due to its timing, we had to find a balance between studying for our upcoming exams and managing this project, and it was not always easy. We faced a few setbacks (such as missing puzzle pieces etc.) and many challenges that required time and effort, which we managed to overcome as a team and with the help of other advocates.

In this project I realized that sometimes, we tend to overlook the hard work that others put in to makes our lives more comfortable, as much as we overlook the significance of our response to their work. Whether we look at them, give them a smile, or greet them in the corridor, it shows if we really care. It shows whether we think of them and their work as less than us, less than a teacher or principal that we greet (even this is on the decline).

Poster put up around the school to remind people just to SMILE (:

Hence, I feel that carrying out this project has enlightened me about what it means to show gratitude, and how important and valuable it is to be grateful. The time and effort we invested in this project was well spent, and although I can't say that I enjoyed every minute of it, it was certainly an enriching experience that I would gladly go through again. All in all, I feel that we have succeeded in expressing our gratitude to the janitors, security guards, and non-teaching staff, and in encouraging the student body to do the same.

The security guard "caught" reading the 'Thank You' card

Like Mother Teresa once said, being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat. We should always remember to give our thanks and show our concern to the people around us. That would make the lives of others better, as well as our own.

-Si Ling, 3rd Saints Advocate