The annual North Canton PTO Carnival is ready to show up and show out this coming March 16. As the former Clearmount and Northwood Elementary schools have combined into one, the North Canton Primary School, the festival is ready for a new look and new audience. The two schools have been separate since establishment, but now the communities are one. Ms. Kelli Liddle from Northwood and Ms. Rachel Buzzard from Clearmount have joined forces to bring North Canton student families and staff an exciting and successful PTO Spring Carnival. The carnival is a unique and fun way to fundraise for future opportunities, events and resources. It provides teachers and staff with needed supplies
and beneficial items to better education, and students can participate in field trips and holiday events throughout the school year.
“For the staff, we like to provide catered dinners for teachers during conferences, reimbursement to help ease the burden of purchases they make for their classrooms, extra special requests staff may have, stocking the lounge with various supplies, etc,” Ms. Liddle said. “For the students, we provide a Holiday Shoppe in December, which requires us to pre-purchase thousands of dollars in inventory, Eclipse glasses for each student this year, funds to provide either a field trip or in-school assembly for each grade, the eSpark program utilized by each student for online learning, supplies for indoor recess carts in each pod throughout the building, etc.”
The festival raises money through different activities, ensuring that staff, students and parents can enjoy themselves. The PTO team accepts donations and offers raffle prizes at the event, and there are games that students may participate in without spending money. This year, the annual Vike-a-Thon was a success, and each North Canton Primary student will receive a free game card, allowing them to choose a game of their liking to enjoy at the carnival.
“All attendees will also have the opportunity to purchase extra game cards, wristbands to enjoy the five inflatables in the gym and raffle tickets to enter to win one of the 40+ raffle baskets created from donations from each class, as well as showcase items donated from local businesses and beyond,” Ms. Buzzard said. “We will have many food options for purchase in the cafeteria that day, including Chick-fil-A sandwiches, popcorn and cotton candy.”
The school and PTO team will use the money raised from raffle tickets, game cards, and other items to purchase school necessities and provide exciting activities for the young students, allowing for a stimulating and pleasurable learning experience. The event is not entirely a fundraising matter, but it also allows students to enjoy a Saturday with their peers and have a good time outside of school hours.
The event can unify the young student body, enhance school spirit and gather funds to provide a relevant and advanced form of education.
“It means a lot that we are able to bring these traditions to the new building and continue them together. It’s a unique opportunity Craze Carnival to spend a Saturday at school with your classmates, family and teachers,” Liddle
said.
As the North Canton Primary School is new to the North Canton City School district, there is a hurdle the planning team must overcome: a new location. The combined carnival is new, whereas the former elementary schools hosted two exclusive events. The planning team expected to put in extra effort this year because of the new location.
“This year, we have had to spend some extra time deciding how the Carnival would look as we prepare to host it in a new building, but the basics remained the
same,” Liddle said.
The conversion of the two schools welcomes new, conjoined ideas from both. With Ms. Liddle and Ms. Buzzard’s experiences in the schools, they can work together to prepare a collective and collaborative event. The new environment may be a challenge to accommodate, but two minds are better than one, and they plan to create a safe, amusing and prosperous festival in this new building.
“[I and Ms. Liddle] really appreciate Mr. Runner and Mr. Donaldson taking the time to help us work through all the details and logistics,” Buzzard said. “We are excited to have a large, new building with more space, but we also have double the number of attendees.”
The process of brainstorming, preparing and arranging a festival for over a thousand students, many different staff and volunteers is an undermined behind-the-scenes factor. The incredible PTO presidents, volunteer team, planning
committee and principals allow this fun-filled event to exist.
“We have many committees to help us accomplish each task: Games, Volunteers, Cake Walk, Raffle Tickets, Raffle Baskets, Food and Showcase Donations,” Liddle said. “It also requires the assistance of many staff members and parents as well as local high school and college students who take time to volunteer on a Saturday.”
Teamwork makes a dream work, and each person holds a valuable place on the planning committee. From the attendees, like staff, students and parents, to the presidents of the PTO, each individual helps make the vision come true. This carnival has been an ongoing, annual event for thirty or more years, and the PTO team never fails to leave every attendee smiling and enjoying themselves. With double the students, double the staff, and double the PTO presidents, there is no doubt the PTO Carnival will be a roaring success.
“Every year, we learn and grow to make it even better,” Liddle said.
