Event set for November 22 at New York Mills School

By Tucker Henderson

Reporter

It’s that time of the year again when the New York Mills Education Foundation hosts the annual Community Carnival to raise funds for their school programs throughout the year. The event will kick off on Friday, Nov. 22 at 4 p.m. at the NY Mills School Commons.

The 13th annual event includes a supper fundraiser from 4-7 p.m. in support of the NY Mills Close-Up group who make their way to Washington D.C. every two years. A silent auction fundraiser will also be held in the Sports Center from 4-6:45 p.m. to support the Education Foundation’s programs, which support teachers and students throughout the district.

The Community Carnival began 13 years ago when the Community Supporting Classrooms organization hosted the very first one to raise funding for the school. A few years ago, the NY Mills Education Foundation stepped in as a fiscal host to help support the Carnival and the fundraising. This year, the Parents Nest PTO will also be involved with the fundraising and will expanding the funds from the elementary school to further aid in the High school as well.

“In the past the proceeds have all benefited the elementary side,” said Stephanie Von Ruden, a member of both organizations. “This year we will be using the proceeds to benefit all pre-K through 12th grade. We asked the teachers some of the big things they were looking for and we’ve spoken with the administration and one thing our school has really been hoping to do some day is create a maker space and we don’t quite have the space for that right now.”

A maker space is like a STEAM kind of room, a place where you can use Cricuts and heat presses and LEGO, engineering, art supplies,” she continued. “So since we don’t have a space for it, we’re going to create carts that can be moved and then brought to the individual classrooms so we don’t have to worry too much about the space confines.”

Von Ruden said that the proceeds from the Carnival are distributed to the staff for classroom supplies and funding other goals they have throughout the year. Money is set aside for speakers and other general projects for the students.

This year the Carnival will feature a caricaturist which is an addition from previous years. Twenty different games will also be available for kids of all ages as well as inflatables, caricature drawings, and a balloon twisters for everyone’s entertainment. While the date is set for Friday, Nov. 22, the event will be moved to Monday, Nov. 25 in the event of bad weather.