By Kari Lucin, staff writer

Teachers and staff at Lakeview Elementary School received the royal treatment this week when the Lakeview Elementary School Organization sponsored Teacher Appreciation Week.

&8220;We include all 60 people on staff here, everybody from our janitors to our cooks in the kitchen to the secretary,&8221; said LESO member Lisa Schultz.

Schultz and Jayne Iverson organized the week’s events for LESO.

All week long, school staff could grab chocolates and treats from a big bucket in the teachers’ lounge, donated by generous students and their families. And every day had a theme and special activities or gifts to go along with the theme.

&8220;We’re lucky to have the parents,&8221; said Nichole Brownlee, kindergarten teacher. &8220;Our parent organization is great.&8221;

The week started off with a bang on Monday, dubbed &8220;Garden Day,&8221; as teachers received buckets with a rake, shovel and seeds for planting. The buckets had signs saying &8220;Thank you for planting the seeds of success.&8221;

Tuesday was &8220;Thanks a latte&8221; and LESO members brought in Starbucks coffee and rolls. Each staff member got a carnation as a gift, too.

On Wednesday staff got a little preview of the summer to come when they had a beach party luncheon, complete with beach decor, a giant submarine sandwich and chips.

The theme for Thursday’s ice cream social was &8220;We’re nuts about our Lakeview teachers and staff,&8221; and teachers got peanut M&Ms to go along with their ice cream. Each staff member also got a massage from massage therapist Jeanette Phillips, who donated three hours of her time for the project.

The biggest day of the week was definitely Friday. Every teacher and staff member gets a packet of paper and pencils and chocolates, with a note saying &8220;You’re the write stuff.&8221; They’ll participate in a big drawing for gift certificates from Green Mill, Ben’s Floral, Lakeside Cafe and the and the Freeborn County/Albert Lea Chamber of Commerce, with drawing results announced over the intercom by Principal Jean Jordan.

&8220;This is great, you guys are spoiling us rotten!&8221; art teacher Bonnie Wedge told LESO volunteers at the ice cream social Thursday.

LESO does a staff appreciation week every year, and every year, the celebration has become a little bit bigger.

&8220;It’s fun to do it for them because they really deserve it,&8221; Schultz said. &8220;It’s a little thing we can do for them to show them how awesome they are.

(Contact Kari Lucin at kari.lucin@albertleatribune.com or 379-3444.)