School Carnival: An Annual Tradition

Our school holds a carnival every year as a fundraiser. I love it because it brings the whole community together and it also allows our middle school and high school students to plan, decorate, and pull off an evening of fun, tradition, and memories for the younger children of the community. Being a K-12 school it is certainly an endeavor that involves most students and staff. A big part of the yearly carnival is Bingo. Bingo is big in our community and the Senior Class each year runs Bingo in the cafeteria from the beginning of the carnival at 5:00 until the prizes run out, which was about 9:45 when I finally left this evening. The seniors also man the concessions, which provides dinner and snacks for everyone attending the big event.
The middle school students ran many booths this year. I think my students have as much fun running the booths as the little children that are lined up for the chance to win a prize.
The hoop shoot contest is another popular event and each year students and community members try to make the record for the most consecutive shots. The record that had been held for five years was broken tonight by another community member. I love that the records are held and broken by guys closer to my age than this student of mine above. The younger competitors sit back and let their elders take the spotlight. Talk about one generation learning from another!Each high school class chooses king and queen candidates and the classes sell raffle tickets. The king and queen represent the class that sells the most raffle tickets. I didn't win a shopping spree to Northtown Mall, but I did get some great pictures of my former students. One was crowned queen and the other is a princess. One of my students that was working hard took time to show his ultimate coolness.
These students are never camera shy when they see me coming. I know we made a big profit tonight, which helps in supporting athletics, academic functions, cultural events, and field trips. Although I enjoyed it all, I was ready by 10:00 for a bit of quiet in front of the laptop at home.