From designer bags to an air-fryer, Troy Middle School students carefully selected holiday gifts for their loved ones – and themselves – at the annual Bling Sale.
“One student said, ‘My grandmother loves flowers so I’m going to get her three vases so she can put flowers everywhere,’” said Laura Stukenborg, the school’s behavioral support specialist and member of the Troy Teachers Association.
All the items are free, but there’s a catch: students must be on their best behavior to earn them. They’re each given Bling cards with spaces to stamp for good conduct. Each stamp translates to points that may be used to purchase gifts.
“It’s a great incentive for the kids,” Stukenborg said. “They’re proud to get their stamps, especially some of the students who don’t always behave the best. They really try hard to earn them.”
A few years ago, Stukenborg volunteered to run the event when the schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports team no longer had the capacity. She had been at the school for several years and saw how important the Bling Sale is to the hundreds of students who participate.
“Any educator knows the month of December is a hard month,” she explained. “We are a school that has students who have experienced a lot of trauma and the holidays are not a happy time for everyone, so it gives them something to focus on, something to look forward to, something to remind them to keep their behavior in check. I definitely would say the Bling Sale helps motivate a lot of our students to work a little harder and do a little better.”
Stukenborg says the event empowers the kids and boosts their self-esteem to be able to provide presents for their parents, grandparents, siblings and other loved ones.
“Watching them get on the buses after with their bags and their boxes full, they just have a great sense of pride to be able to give something to someone else,” she said.
Faculty and staff also enjoy helping the students pick out and wrap their gifts. Stukenborg says all items are donated by educators and their friends and family. “One teacher brought in four truckloads worth of stuff!” Stukenborg keeps a bin in her basement to fill up all year long with potential presents.
“It’s a great opportunity for the staff and the students to have a much more relaxed interaction and have fun,” Stukenborg said. “It really is something that takes all of us – the custodians, the teachers, the secretaries, the principal – to put on for the kids and it just gives a really nice sense of community for the whole building.”