As much fun as it is, carnival funds fill a void for elementary school

The New Hampton Elementary Carnival Committee runs a “well-oiled machine” by repeating what works, say its two co-chairs, TLC Coordinator Michelle Hoy and fourth-grade teacher Dennis Pagel, who have a few decades on the committee between them.Principal Brenda Lansing encouraged families to come out.“It’s an opportunity to play games and enjoy a fun atmosphere with families,” Lansing said.Tonight’s carnival [Friday, March 8] is also the largest-scale elementary fundraiser of the year, bringing in community investment in the form of monetary donations and in-kind voluntarism such as baking for the cake and cookie walk and the 60 volunteer slots needed to staff the event, Pagel said. For what slots are not filled by parents and the community, high school students can earn service hours by volunteering, which Pagel encourages at the High School Lettermen Club he sponsors.The funds go to opportunities outside of class such as field trips and assemblies, technology, skill development and classroom incentives that reward positive behavior.New Hampton Elementary will open its doors from 5:30 to 8:15 p.m. ...— For more on this story, see the March 8 New Hampton Tribune.