Get Out! PTOs, PTAs running slew of outdoor activities: Our Week in Review
April 27th, 2012 by Rose CCan you smell the fresh air and hear the kids laughing? Our stories this week highlight some great outdoor events being held around the country.
The Williamston, Mich., school district, helped along by parent volunteers, held a Walk- to-School day last week and plans to create “Walking Wednesdays’’ through the month of May. A parent volunteer reported the kids were “having a blast’’ and “full of energy’’ as they walked and socialized with friends. These events are part of a Safe Routes 2 School program the district launched this year with a $248,000 grant. The district is also doing walking school buses, participating in the National Bike to School Day on May 9, and holding a “Caught Being Safe’’ Day where students and parents are rewarded for good driving.
Who knew mulch could mean so much! The Mount Vernon High School in Alexandria, Va., did. It just completed its 8th annual springtime mulch sale and brought in $20,000! Run by the Combined Parent Council at MVHS, the mulch sale is used to fund the seniors’ all-night graduation party. The group sold over 9,000 bags of mulch!
The PTA at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Port Chester, New York recently held its 5th annual walk-a-thon this month and had 500 participants. The PTA gave cash prizes to three students who raised the most money through pledges. The group also offered a pizza party to the class that brought in the most money and an ice cream party for the class that had the most participants.
The John W. Decas Elementary School in Wareham, Mass., has a beautiful new $30,000 playground, thanks to a dedicated playground committee and many months of fundraising, (spaghetti suppers, Hat Days) and seeking donations. The committee brought in a crew of volunteers who managed to assemble the entire thing (including pouring concrete!) and put down child-safe mulch in one day. Job well done!
April 29th, 2012 at 10:05 pm
Our school, Snow Creek Elementary, in Hickory, North Carolina just concluded our 3rd annual walk-a-thon, Strides for Pride and the students raised over $10,000! We had an Angry Bird theme and prizes were Angry Bird items as well as the children got to earn water balloon shots at the principal & assistant principal who were dressed in Angry Bird costumes. We also had class & grade contests for Super Recess packages which contained a set of playground balls, a homework pass & extended recess for a day. There were 3 collection dates and a winning class in each grade who won the recess packages based on participation and then on most money raised. Lastly, we offered a school-wide incentive. If the children raised $8,000 ($1,000 more than last year) then they would earn an inflatables day. As you can tell, they knocked it out of the park. Each grade got their own play time and the kids had a blast! We will soon be installing our new playground!