Elementary students run wild in Plains gym

On March 6, approximately 150-180 Plains Elementary students were in the gym running, hopping, and some were even throwing things. Wait, don’t be alarmed and call the school to ask what was going on there, or if anyone was hurt. It was all in good fun and part of the after school program and the Plains High School National Honor Society. The Plains gym was where this carnival took place from 4 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.

Marla Dykstra, who is the coordinator for the REACH after school program stated, “The National Honor Society students set this up very quickly starting at 3:30 p.m. They did a very good job, as there was a class in here a few minutes before they began getting ready for the carnival.”

Dykstra estimated that there were roughly 45 kindergarten through second-grade students in the gym.

“I think this is the sixth year that the National Honor Society has put on this carnival,” she said.

Dykstra indicated that many of the prizes were items purchased by the after school program from the Oriental Trader. Students were busy taking their turn at a variety of games, including fishing for prizes, moving around chairs to music that suddenly stopped, guessing where the ball was hidden under cups, ring toss, bean bag toss, putting a golf ball toward three cups on the floor, having their face or arms painted, and bening as low as they could go to do the limbo.

Jacob Lulack was bending low and going under a three-foot long pole held by two high school students from the National Honors Society. Elementary students Ireland Corbin and Emma McCrae had two hearts painted on their arms and were moving quickly toward another game. Many of the students were laughing and smiling as they played the games or while they watched others playing games. Others waited in a line for their turn to try their best at the game.

National Honor Society students helped the younger students by demonstrating how to play many of the more challenging games, as well as giving them suggestions on how to toss the ball tied to a rope at the ladder toss game. The National Honor Society students are busy throughout the year doing a variety of things to accumulate service hours and give back to the school and community.