Games, balloons, prizes, and smiling faces stretched as far as the eye could see, and the yummy smell of popcorn filled the air as the annual Morse School Math and Literacy Carnival rolled into town on Thursday, March 22nd! This year, over 188 children “stepped right up” and enjoyed an evening filled with exciting math and literacy fun for the whole family. The night kicked off with check-in in the main lobby at 6PM, where, by the end of the evening, close to 130 families had received their raffle tickets, game checklist, and carnival map.
When the doors to the games opened at 6:15PM, children and their families had their choice of more than a dozen fun and interactive math and literacy games that were spread throughout the brightly decorated cafeteria and run by members of the Morse School’s Math Advisory Group (MAG) and Literacy Leadership Team (LLT). This year, a number of “Giant” games were added to the mix for even
bigger fun, with Giant Kakooma, Compare, Mad Libs, and Tangrams all making their BIG carnival debut. Miss Lavalle and Mrs. Rocha heroically manned the rowdy Human Bingo board- always a Morse Carnival favorite, and Miss Pennell used her extensive book knowledge to create Giant Word Search puzzles that were a hotspot throughout the night for many eagle-eyed carnival-goers. Lots of students (and even some picture-loving parents) also stopped to pop on a funny hat and capture a memory at the Selfie Station that was located near the games.
The excitement wasn’t limited to just the cafeteria this year. Throughout the evening excited crowds could be found enjoying all the extra fun located in the main lobby and the library lobby. The Morse School’s youngest learners and their families took advantage of the Early Education Zone in the library lobby, which offered a wide array of games and activities that were thoughtfully planned and kindly run by the amazing members of the Morse Early Childhood Team. In the main lobby, people lined up to enjoy free bags of delicious popcorn from the giant popcorn machine that was generously sponsored by the Morse Community School. At the prize table, kids of all ages gathered to strategically deposit their raffle tickets in the hopes of winning one of the carnival’s fantastic prize games, which were all graciously provided by the Friends of Morse. Finally, to everyone’s great delight, decked in head-to-toe rainbow (in true Miss-Pat-form), our tireless principal showcased her math skills in the main lobby, leading her own giant game of Roll-the-Dice!
This incredible night was truly a collaborative effort and only made possible (and wonderful) by the time, efforts, and generosity of the many kind members of our Morse family. A very big thank you goes out to the 25 members of the Morse MAG and LLT for their work in planning, setting up, and running the carnival, to the Friends of Morse and the Morse Community School for generously providing the wonderful prizes and the yummy popcorn, to the six former Morse students who volunteered their time before and during the carnival, and to the two custodians that helped set up and clean up after, thank you! Finally, thank you very, very much to our fun-loving Morse School students and their families for demonstrating your love of community and of learning by celebrating with us at the carnival. We can’t wait to see you again next year!