Mountain Pine School to host 12th annual elementary school carnival next week

MOUNTAIN PINE – The Mountain Pine School District will continue a long- standing tradition next Thursday when it holds the 12th annual elementary school carnival to kick off the 2012- 13 school year.

The brainchild of Assistant Superintendent Rebecca Morris, Superintendent Bobby Gray and Elementary School Principal Lisa Kissire now head up the event, which is a fun way to get elementary students back into the school spirit and allow parents to attend an open house, meet their children’s teachers and gather other information.

“This is my third year to help organize it. We always have it on the school grounds, with the exception of last year. We had a torrential rain and had to move it into the gym, but we still had a huge turnout,” Kissire said.

The carnival will take place from 5- 6: 30 p. m., and include several games for the elementary children, along with a bouncy house, slide and a lot of prizes. The school staff will serve hot dogs, tea and water.

“The fire department will also have a fire truck here, and we will also have representatives from the Boy and Girl Scouts, along with other organizations that will present information to the families. Each year, more people call and ask to set up a table at the carnival, so it helps it grow more and more into a community event,” she said.

“The teachers create and do all of the games as well. Their creativity to come up with something new each year to add to the basic fun stuff is always neat to see.”

From 6: 30- 7 p. m., school officials will bring the parents and students into the auditorium for a few minutes, give them an orientation and other needed information, and the open house will follow from 7- 8 p. m.

“The open house will allow both the students and their parents to meet their teachers for the coming year. We really strive to get the parents involved from the beginning, and the carnival and open house are great to accomplish that task,” Kissire said.

Mountain Pine has about 350 children in its elementary grades, pre- kindergarten through sixth, and Kissire said the majority of them show up every year to help get their school year started.

“It is really a unique way of starting the school year, and it is a lot of fun. The kids look forward to the carnival every year, and it takes away the blues of starting back to school. We’re looking forward to having a good year,” Kissire said.