Holmesville Elementary Spring Fling a true community function
Spring is in the air, and Holmesville Elementary will be celebrating in style during the annual Holmesville PTO Spring Fling on April 24, from 4:30-7 p.m., and the public is invited to join in the fun.The event will feature plenty of games, activities, prizes and food. And while the focus during the evening will be on having fun, the overriding theme of the night is to help Holmesville Elementary create the best possible facility for educating the children who attend.
“Our goal as a PTO is to make this school somewhere that the kids can come and learn and grow,” said Carrie Morrison, Holmesville Elementary PTO president. “The things we do as an organization are done to benefit all of the kids, both in the present and in the future. We want our kids to have the best chance to be successful and to get the best education possible.”
Throughout the years, the PTO has been able to raise money for much-needed classroom equipment, including the past several years, when they have been instrumental in providing each classroom with a SmartBoard. SmartBoards are interactive white boards which are touch-sensitive and connect to a computer and digital projector. Using a finger, teachers can control computer applications, write notes, pull up charts and images, search the Internet, play videos and save your work.
“They’re a real step up for teachers, and a remarkable educational tool,” said Kathy Camacho of the boards. “Through our fundraisers, we have been able to purchase four of these over the past two years, and now every classroom has one.”
This year, the focus is going to be on raising enough money to purchase tables and chairs for the school, something they have been borrowing from area churches. Morrison said that while it is a bit more community oriented, since the chairs and tables would be used for numerous other functions outside of school activities like the annual Veterans Day dinner, reunions, Family Fun Night and the Boy Scouts, it all ends up providing for the community.
“The school will definitely benefit, but we enjoy being part of our community as well, and helping there when we can, because they have always been there for us,” said Morrison. Morrison said that while the PTO itself is not huge, with approximately eight or nine couples making up the bulk of those who regularly attend, Holmesville is full of people and businesses willing to help and participate, and the Spring Fling is no different. She also said that the PTO has a wonderful relationship with the Holmesville Elementary staff, and the Methodist Church has stepped up in the past, the most recent time being this past fall, when they held a Back to School Night in which they provided school supplies to area kids. The church will also volunteer its time to help make the potatoes, supplying six roasters and some ample help.
“We’re a close-knit community, and everyone seems to lend a hand when it’s needed,” said Morrison.
The Spring Fling represents the group’s one big fund-raiser each year.
This year’s event will again feature a Gerber’s Chicken barbecue meal. Included in the feast will be a Gerber’s barbecued chicken half, potluck potatoes, green beans, applesauce, roll and butter, dessert and drink.
If a child prefers, they may also choose the hot dog meals will have hot dog and bun, potato chips, applesauce, dessert and drink. Meal tickets are $7 presale for chicken and $3.50 for a kids hot dog meal. Presale tickets are available at the school office.
Meal tickets at the door the night of the event are $8 for chicken and $4.50 for the hot dog meal. Take-out will be available in the school cafeteria.
The lineup of games and activities is big, and will include fun games like bowling, a cookie walk, ring toss, pop toss, face painting, rope the horse and other assorted fun games, which will be operated from 5-6:30 p.m.
There will be several different auctions to entice bidders. The PTO members have been busy since early January rounding up a large array of excellent prizes. Included will be a Stihl chain saw, a Cabela’s trip for four, two loads of firewood, gift certificates, an afghan, a signed Shaun Rogers Cleveland Browns jersey, gift certificates to bed and breakfasts, a TV stand, craft items, Maple City Pottery and much more. Duane Morrison will be doing the auctioneering.
There will also be raffles for classroom baskets, with each class creating a basket with a certain theme, like Chocolate Lovers, The Pet Basket, What’s for Dinner?, Going On A Picnic, A Day At the Beach, Family Game Night, Movie Night, The Car Wash and Gone Fishing. Tickets for the theme baskets are $1 each.
There will also be a money raffle. Prizes include first and second prizes of $250, third and fourth prizes of $125, fifth and sixth prizes of $100 and seventh and eighth prizes of $50. The PTO is asking for a donation of $5 per ticket and participants need not be present to win. Tickets are available from any Holmesville Elementary student.