Union Ridge Elementary School hosted its third annual Farewell Festival on May 31, offering games and activities for families to enjoy while celebrating the school year’s end.
Started by the school’s Parental Involvement Committee, the Farewell Fest’s goal was to provide an evening for Union Ridge students and their families to come together and socialize at the Harwood Heights school. The evening began with a range of games for students to play including Bingo, human Hungry Hungry Hippos, parachutes, bag toss and giant Twister, Jenga and Connect Four.
Joe Kerke, the school’s social worker, said the event allowed students of all ages to enjoy the games offered. Some older students assisted the faculty during setup and helped run the games themselves, offering more of a leadership opportunity.
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“From big kids to little kids, it was a wide age range that played [the games],” Kerke said. “That’s kind of the cool thing about it. We try to involve games and activities that are both cool for the pre-K kids, but still cool for our seventh- and eighth-graders to do.”
Younger students gravitated toward the oversized Jenga and Twister games, while several older students dominated human Hungry Hungry Hippos played on scooters in the school’s gym. Several families also played Bingo inside the building, offering an entertaining break from the outdoor heat.
“The first time we had this night, we had it indoors in the spring,” said Niki Musial, a second-grade teacher at Union Ridge. “We decided to change it and make it an end-of-the-year event.”
About 200 people were expected to attend, including families and friends of the Union Ridge community. Kerke said the event has drawn the attention of substitute teachers, and community members who aren’t enrolled in the school.
“(One of our substitutes) was like ‘hey can I come too? My son is 10 years old, but he goes to a different school.’ I said ‘absolutely come by, we would definitely welcome you coming in and celebrating the year with us.’ What makes it cool is it not being exclusive,” Kerke said.
All participating volunteers added value to the event’s overall goal, warmly welcoming all students and outside community members in attendance.
“The families coming in and feeling welcomed here is a huge thing, and I think buying into that helps kids with their education too,” Kerke said. “They only do better with the trust and involvement both school and the community have.”
In addition to Farewell Fest, Union Ridge also holds several other activities throughout the year, including an ice cream social to kick off the beginning of the school year.
“We work on ways to bring families into Union Ridge, and this is one of those activities,” Kerke said “Really, the goal of both events is how we can bring families together to celebrate the same opportunities.”
“I do think that’s what the special sauce is at Union Ridge,” said Kerke. “It’s the bringing in of families, it’s the community, it’s everybody taking an active role within the school. It just makes the school a great place.”
