Jerger PTO raises thousands during Winter Carnival

Feb. 5—THOMASVILLE- After nearly 30 years, the Jerger Elementary Winter Carnival is still a mainstay for children in all grades. On Friday afternoon, the Jerger Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) set up a carnival, complete with games, inflatables, a petting zoo, and a train, raising nearly $14,000 to help build a better future for all Jerger students.

Principal Emily Newman explained the carnival has seen a renewed energy and effort since the COVID-19 pandemic, when children were not able to participate.

The carnival kicks off the week with a raffle. Newman said each day kids have a chance to purchase a raffle ticket, which varies in amount. Kids can pay $5 and up to have their names drawn for the ultimate prize. Businesses across town donated items for the raffle, which began last Monday.

Each morning during the announcements, a ticket would be drawn for the raffle prize of the day, encouraging kids to turn out to the Carnival, where more prizes and goodies could be found.

When kids arrived at the Carnival on Friday afternoon, they were wide-eyed with excitement as ducks, bunnies, and baby goats were onsite at the petting zoo, along with a small train to take them around the building. Once inside the fence, multiple inflatable slides were scattered across the lawn for kids to slide into the action on. For those looking for a tamer activity, children could head inside the school, where Scholar's Academy art students were painting students' faces and the coaches were hosting a cake walk.

However, it wasn't just the PTO and coaches involved. The Thomasville Center for the Arts had a room dedicated to children painting quilt pieces that would later be displayed.

Newman said this was the idea of PTO President Mariam Mirabzadeh who works at the Center for the Arts and wanted to see the duo collaborate.

While kids could win a cake during the cake walk, the PTO made sure to have other yummy goods on hand as well, including consistent partners Kona Ice and Dog World. For those who would rather enjoy an ice-cold soda, THS football players were hosting a soda ring toss. Kids could toss their rings in hopes of landing on a soda. They could then choose any two-liter bottle to walk away with.

All of the activities and snacks proved to be a huge success for the PTO. Newman said a final total has not been provided yet, but the event is projected to have raised $14,000 in gross.

Newman explained the PTO has not decided what the funds will be used for, but the organization usually meets with her once the school hosts their annual Booster-A-Thon to see if there is a specific project the money should be toward.

Newman shared that this year's Booster-A-Thon fundraiser will be spent on a "Media Center Makeover," and the PTO could always help with the funding of furniture or artwork. However, she will leave the decision up to the PTO on how to best use the net profits.

Newman could not be more thankful for the parents involved in the PTO who go above and beyond to help teachers and students get all the resources they need to be successful. Newman said she believes the number of parents who are so involved in the PTO is directly correlated with the climate and culture she implements at Jerger.

"Prioritizing our climate and culture has been a consistent goal for us," she said. "We've really tried to build a culture where parents are welcome because we recognize the importance of parents being in the fold and see it is a priority."

Newman's hope is that the inclusion of the parents helps make Jerger a place where parents and students want to come after regular school hours, so they can partake in events like the Winter Carnival.

Most importantly, Newman said she wants this event to be something kids can remember for years to come. She concluded by thanking the PTO for donating their hours so kids can have these forever memories and sharing that it was a rousing success.