What a kick. Lots of families showed up last week for the Piñon Hills Elementary School Family Math and Science Night.
There were tables set up with lots of activities for us to do. We were able to test our building strategies to make structures out of uncooked spaghetti noodles with baby marshmallows as the connectors. Angelina Stein and my daughter had a lot of fun with this project. I saw some structures that were 2-feet tall. Way to go.
Jason Twisleton and his daughter Jordyn were a couple of the people playing Tetris. Will Ponce and his mom were cutting snowflakes out of paper. Lots of people were in line to play Mancala. It is a great game with marbles. I just haven't figured out why the little kids are so much better at it than us adults.
There was a jar full of gum balls that Eli Spleen was spending time at calculating his guess. Then there was this cute little baby named Aspen who was being passed around to lots of different people. I finally found out the mom was Erin Been who is a teacher in Carson City, this little doll was very well known. Thank you so much for a wonderful evening.
I haven't talked about how much fun it is to volunteer at Piñon Hills in a while so let me tug at your heart strings for a minute. Even if you don't have a child or grandchild at the school, you can still volunteer. Even if you don't want to commit to a regular day and time, you can still volunteer.
Here is one area in particular that the school needs help in, the Ice Cream Social. Back when my boys attended Piñon, the Ice Cream Social was only a gathering to eat ice cream and visit with teachers and other parents. But, in the last few years it has grown to be a huge event. This is what they need: a parent, or a group of parents, or a family to sponsor a game. That means you will make sure the game is set up, run well and cleaned up after the event. There are seven games and one jump house, or you can bring a new game from home if you'd like. Last year they had a prize wall, an ice cream toss, tattoos (rub on ones), a basketball toss, a sack race, face stamping, a cake walk and the bounce house. The kids love all these games and they win prizes that are sponsored by the Parent-Teacher Organization. Donna King, the person organizing this event, needs your help. Even if you can only sign up to help for one hour, we would all appreciate it. The date is May 18. I know it sounds like it is too far off to commit to, but in order for this event to work, it's time now to volunteer. Call Donna at 267-5836, or you can always call the school for more information at 267-3622.
-- Lisa Welch is a Johnson Lane resident and can be reached at 267-9350.
