Hampden Mini-Mini THON

Hampden Mini Mini THON
Hampden Mini Mini THONHampden Elementary’s Mini Mini-THON
Evan Williams
Staff Writer
[email protected]

Each year, Cumberland Valley Mini-THON holds a “Mini Mini-THON” at each of the district’s eight elementary schools. Many students are unaware of these events, or perhaps they don’t know much about what takes place. On November 8th, the initial two Mini Mini-THONs occurred at both Hampden and Silver Spring Elementaries, and I volunteered at Hampden, interviewing students while partaking in activities with them.

The day begins with a celebratory human tunnel formed by the members of Mini-THON who are volunteering at the event. We gathered outside the school at the bus drop-off area, where we cheerfully greeted students and got them excited for all of the fun we had planned for them for the day.

Each grade had their own time for activities, spending ten minutes at each of the stations laid out for them. The four activities that students were involved in included an arts and crafts setup in the IMC, a dice tournament that included an obstacle course in the gym, a skit put on by committee members, and a dance party behind the stage.
For the morning rotation, I overlooked (and participated of course) in the dice tournament located in the gym.

Headed by Hampden P.E. teacher and Cumberland Valley musical director Mr. Flom, the station was centered around a game in which a bracket of hula hoops are set up, each complete with a pair of dice. You then roll the dice and multiply the numbers you get, the higher number wins. After this, you keep advancing, but if you lose, you complete the challenging obstacle course that outlines the bracket. This station did a great job of getting the kids active while simultaneously giving their brain a challenge by using their math skills.

In the afternoon, I was stationed at the dance party, where the kids could party around and enjoy the time with committee members and their friends. No specific dance was required at the station, and each group of students brought different celebrations to the floor. Most notable was their talent of mimicking dances from the popular game Fortnite. The kids taught me how to properly do the Floss, as well as showcased their ability to do the Orange Justice. Dancing wasn’t the only fun that was had however, as one group of boys came in and had their own workout session, as well as another group playing a big game of tag with me.

Many of the younger students had a blast with the interactive skit that was put on in one of the school’s classrooms. Here, the kids learned about the meaning and origins of the Four Diamonds, and I had a chance to catch up with two students afterward. When asked how much fun they were having, third grader Lily Lanclos said cheerfully, “I’m having a lot of fun!” “Definitely a ten out of ten,” added her classmate Ariana McDonell. The girls also agreed that they had the most fun at the dance station, and that they were both really proud of the effort they put into raising money for a great cause.

As the day drew to an end, the students gathered in the cafeteria for the big reveal. Before raising the dollar amount though, students were treated to dance-off between committee members Charlie Irving, Justin Rulapaugh, Antara Kulkarni, Beck Zimmerman, and Grace Brown-Scherer, and their own teachers, who they happily cheered up to the front of the room. After the teachers barely edged a victory over the committee members, it was finally time to reveal how much was raised. As the signs were raised, students screamed with joy as they saw the amount of $3,417.08 before them.

Both the efforts of the members of Mini-THON and the Hampden Elementary community paid off tremendously in the end, and students, staff, and committee members couldn’t have been more proud of how everything went. With this event concluded, Mini-THON still has six similar events planned for the districts remaining elementaries, and individuals involved on every side are more than excited to see how amazing the events turn out to be.

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