West Elementary celebrates fall fun day

“The students have really been working hard and we wanted to have an event to reward them for all they’ve been doing,” WES principal Dr. Chris James said.

“In the past, West had a fall festival that was held at night, but it was the responsibility of the parents to bring the children back to school in order for them to participate. 

“RES does a spring fling during the school day, so we decided the daytime event would be a good way for us to make sure that all the children could participate.”

Activities for the day included a hay ride through the parking lot, crafts, games and inflatable slides in the gym, which were a big hit with the students.

“I really liked sliding down the slides,” first-grader Greyson Studdard said. “I went on all of them and they were all fun.”

“My favorite thing was the big slide, and I liked the ring toss, too,” first-grader Sophie Hill said.

Parents were also invited to participate in the day’s events alongside their children.

PTO president Amanda Davis was glad the students were being given the opportunity to have fun and that the parents were invited to join in.

“It’s good for the kids to have a good time outside of the classroom and know that school can be fun,” Davis said. “It’s also a great opportunity for parents to come and be involved with their child’s school experience, which I think is very important for the parents and the children.”

In addition to being a reward for the students’ hard work, the Fall Fun Day was also a fundraiser for the classrooms. According to James, money was given by different sponsors to support the event, and any money left over after supplies and activities were purchased would go towards instructional supplies for each teacher’s classroom.

“It has been two years since we have received any funding from the state for our classrooms,” second-grade teacher Rhonda Pounders said.

“Events like this really help out when it comes time for us to purchase classroom materials that we need to help the students learn. 

“The teachers really appreciate Dr. James and Mrs. Hollimon for their ideas and for helping make this event happen.”