This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Schools

Family Fun Day at SSHS Junior Carnival

Juniors raise money for prom and class gift with afternoon of fun.

The class of 2013 could not have asked for a better afternoon.

A warm, sun splashed Saturday acted as a perfect back drop for the annual Junior Carnival on the lawn. Proceeds from the event help to fund next year’s senior prom and the class’ end-of-year gift to their soon-to-be alma mater.  

“The Junior Carnival is our biggest fundraiser,” Junior Class President Michael Garcia said. “All of the juniors in our grade (put together) a booth. It’s really fun.”

Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There were no shortage of options for attendees who roamed the spacious lawn. Face painting, bouncy castles, three legged races, and a dunk tank were among the many activities available. 

Carly McHale, Emma Weisman, and Jess Fernandez had the messiest job of the afternoon. The three girls manned the pie-throwing station, allowing more-than-willing patrons to hurl shaving cream pies at their faces. 

Find out what's happening in Rockville Centrewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Yes, they had goggles on — but that didn’t do them much good.

“I can’t breathe for a little bit. You have to hold your breath,” Weisman said of the immediate feeling of getting a pie in the face.

The trio volunteered for the dirty job. They claimed that, even though they were looking forward to cleaning up for good, they don’t regret the decision. 

“Overall, it was fun,” McHale said.      

Throughout the last few months, the junior class has been hard at work organizing the afternoon. On top of nailing down the booth assignments, Garcia and his fellow organizers sought raffle donations from local businesses. Many were more than willing to oblige. 

“The vendors and business people in Rockville Centre (were) very generous to the children,” Gina Garcia, Michael’s mother, said.

Gina spent the afternoon operating the raffle table. 

Yoga gift baskets and restaurant gift certificates were among the many raffled items. 

The warm weather came as a welcome gift to all involved. Considering that the rain date was Mother’s Day, families of the junior carnies were extremely pleased with Mother Nature.

“We were really lucky this year,” Garcia said. “Last year it was really cold. (This year), the weather is great. It’s great for the dunk tank, which is a really popular (booth).”

While the next few weeks will consist of budgeting the proceeds for early prom planning and deciding of the class gift, the class president could do nothing but smile at the large turnout. 

“It’s really rewarding,” Michael said. “So many people had so much fun and we raised so much money. It’ll be great for our class because we can have a really great prom.”  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?