Health & Fitness
Stress is the Precursor to Carnival Fun
Many elementary school PTAs organize big activities each year, stretching their volunteer base to its limit! Is it all worth it? It certainly is, says Liz Falcone, Terraset PTA President.
Terraset Earth Day Carnival - Fun, excitement, community builder! Sounds great, doesn't it? But so much angst leads up to the big day. Will the weather hold? Do we have enough volunteers? Will the food vendors remember to come? Have we got the Silent Auction under control?
The annual is on Sunday, April 22 from 12-3:30pm. We have so many attractions: Rock Climbing Wall, Human Whirl, Whirly Bird... Games, Treasure Tree, Cake Walk... Student Recycling Projects.. Gee, we even have a Meet and Greet with our . Could we offer anything more? Oh yeah... the Silent Auction with some 100 items up for bids-- and we now have online pre-bidding.
Also, we will have our wonderful Graffiti Fusion Art Quilt activity-- kids create the quilt, parents bid on the product-- all thanks to member, Karen Mullarkey. For a school with just 320 families, this is an extravaganza!
Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
It gets me thinking. I wonder just how many PTA volunteers go prematurely grey? I know I have. (Well, I did that about 25 years ago... but whose checking?) Carnivals have become a regular activity for most elementary schools. Why not? They're lots of fun. But do they give good return for effort?
Well that depends entirely on your perspective. How do you measure the return when it's a third grader laughing because she was too scared to go on the Human Whirl last year, but she's going to try this year? How do you value the fun parents have bidding against each other for that "hot-ticket" party with the first grade teachers? What about that kindergartner proudly walking around with his coveted prize from the Treasure Tree (which you know your neighbor donated becasue she was trying to get it out of her house)? Carnivals are fun for everyone and they bring a community together.
Find out what's happening in Restonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Just yesterday, with only four days to go, we think we got enough volunteers to run all the games we have planned. Just last night, the Terraset Silent Auction system went live and pre-bidding began. Pre-order ticket orders finally started coming in! Can we breath a little easier? Sure! Is it worth the effort? Absolutely!
So here's to obsessive, untireing, persistent volunteers. Thank you - Our communities grow stronger thanks to you.
