What you cannot see in this photograph is perhaps the most important part of the image to the left. On the whiteboard directly above my son's, Emmett, head was an enlarged photograph of the head of his father, the new principal at MWS. And yes, before you ask, this actually was an official carnival game created by our illustrious Carnival Committee in which students paid a whopping two tickets to throw three wiffle balls at the head of the principal. Hitting the principal's photograph would result directly in winning some sort of sweetened prize for students - exactly the type of message I would hope to send to all of our MWS families. Emmett, now nearly 16 months old and walking, giggled with glee as he passed this game with his daddy's picture. Reluctantly, I allowed him to play the game and offered up two tickets, standing in the background to watch. Fortunately Emmett has yet to receive proper instruction in the art of throwing from our wonderful gym teacher, Mrs. Carlson, and all three of the balls ended up going in directions opposite the principal's picture. In fact, Emmett was more interested in putting balls back in the bucket and taking them out rather than subjecting his father to humiliation. I did not realize that family loyalty started at such a young age.After cheating at the little fish pond game (he threw the rod to the side and actually grabbed fish in handfuls out of the pond as sixth graders Haley Diggan & Meg O'Brien laughed), we moved on to the game sixth grader Tahi Dixon was in charge of, which involved dropping a ball down a slanted board into various colored spaces (a variation of Plinko from "The Price is Right" I think). Finally, Emmett's father tried to win him a beanie baby by throwing three hoops over a peg to win an animal. After failing and subjecting myself to ridicule from Mrs. Willey, sixth grader Grant Hertle proceeded to win Emmett the toy he wanted, and another sixth grader, Will Hinks, gave Emmett both of his beanie babies as well in a glorious act of generosity. Tired and weary (mom included), Emmett left with a smile on his face and an armful of winnings. He survived his first MWS Carnival for nearly an hour and a half, and proceeded to engage in a three-hour nap upon his arrival back home.
I'd like to publicly thank Beth Spaude and Megan Allen and the dozens of volunteers for an absolutely wonderful event at MWS. Not only did my son Emmett enjoy himself, but many other students and families relished this opportunity to spend time at their school with their friends and family members on a beautiful day doing something fun. Running a school carnival is never an easy thing to do, but Beth and Megan worked in unison to create a memorable experience for all members of our MWS family. For that, I sincerely thank you both. Job very well done!
