About 80 Newark Middle school students and their families 30 more than last year enjoyed the two-hour Winter Wonderland Workshop held December 17th that was jam-packed with free activities.
To view the designed article, with photos of the night, visit: https://5il.co/33wba
Again, this year, the gift shop was a popular attraction complete with a gift-wrapping station, where all NMS students could spend $20 in “Fox Funds” they were given to purchase gifts and have them wrapped.
Sixth grade teacher Lindsay Dibble, school psychologist Rebecca Battle and eighth grades students Damara Nelson and Charity Clerveau were in charge of the shop. Gift items were donated either from the Newark Public Library, Steady Work Print Shop and Deb’s Crafts and Things in Newark or provided through 21st Century Community Schools grant money.
Free haircuts or styling were given to some NMS students by five barbers from Mason's Barbershop’s Phelps & Newark locations and Horton's Barbershop in Lyons and Nicole Uhrinyak, a stylist from Highland Styles in Rochester, who is the mother of two NMS students.
NMS art teacher Kristen Pullen was in charge of the holiday card making station.
The cookie decorating station was staffed by NMS art teacher Lisa Stringer and NMS math teacher Taurie Decker. The cookies were made in advance by students in Kristen Harper’s Family and Consumer Science classes.
Another popular attraction at the event that was new this year was the Polar Express ride made by Titus Stephens, a 2007 Newark High School graduate who owns Black & White Paving & Sealing in Newark.
Other Winter Wonderland Workshop activities included:
• Free family photos taken by Charlene Gonzalez, owner of Charlenesvision Photography in Newark who is the mother of an NMS student.
• A hot cocoa bar that was manned by L.J. Taylor and Richie Fernandez, Steady Work program youth. Steady Work is a Community Schools program.
The Winter Wonderland Family Workshop event, that was held for the first time last year, was planned by Braxton Guy, the NCSD Community Schools Coordinator.
Guy said the idea was to provide families with some great holiday experiences at no cost.
“Newark Middle School wants to increase student and family engagement opportunities,’’ he said. “The event was super positive! Everyone had a great time. The addition of the haircuts, trims and styling and the Polar Express were huge hits. Everyone had a lot of fun. We’ll be continuing to plan more events for this school year to increase student and community engagement.”
NMS Assistant Principal Melanie Meyer agrees.
“Braxton does a phenomenal job working with our community to provide opportunities for our students and families. This was our second year holding this event, and once again, the community did not hesitate to support us with their donations and with their time. We are looking forward to providing even more events like this one in the future.”