Annual Halloween Carnival A Big Hit For VVES Kids

By TYRA LUDVIGSON

The Progress

Virgin Valley Elementary School held its annual Halloween Carnival on Tuesday night, Oct. 25. The event had been in the making since the school year began. PTO President Suzie Ruiz worked tirelessly with help from the VVES student council, parents, teachers, faculty, and volunteers to pull off this fantastic fundraiser for the school.

The carnival had many popular attractions. Perhaps the biggest hit was an actual Batmobile on site with a visit from Batman himself. The chilling haunted house was a popular attraction as well.
Janet “Alfred” McDonald helped kids in and out of the batmobile. “We love supporting the community by helping out,” McDonald said. “We love coming to the elementary school and the kids love it!”

The batmobile has made an appearance at the carnival for the past 4 or 5 years now. The McDonalds said they have enjoyed leaving their mark on the school and positively impacting the kids’ lives through their fantastic cosplay.

Batman himself had a quote for The Progress, “If you can’t be yourself, be Batman.”
The Haunted House was also a hit at the carnival! The queue was filled with excited students anticipating the scares.
“There’s a long wait, but it’s totally gonna be worth it! I just know it!” said VVES student Conrad Tichenor as he waited his turn in line.

Outside of the haunted house, the air was filled with screams. Groups of kids exited the house in a rush, trying to escape the scary interior.

Another hit booth at the carnival was the peddle cars brought by the Mesquite Police Department. These have made an appearance at many events around the city and never fail to disappoint. These cars require the rider to peddle themselves around while cheering. This offered the young students of VVES a chance to get behind the wheel. Children would get out of their cars and immediately hop back into the line eager to ride again.

The Carnival had 25 different booths scattered around the playground area. These booths included many classics such as planko, musical chairs, and cake walks! Manning all of these booths would not have been possible without the additional help offered by the Virgin Valley Elementary Student Council. This small group of 16 amazing young individuals worked hard, under the advisement of Christy Perkins, to help make this carnival run smoothly. The kids divided and conquered to help at all of the booths and did a fantastic job interacting with their peers.

There was tough competition to join the student council. Forty-six applicants submitted interest. The students were interviewed by the staff and VVES, and the 16 top candidates were selected to join the student government including 4 fourth graders and 12 fifth graders. The group then elected its own officers: President Aria Connor, Vice President Teia Pongo, Secretary Lacey Wright, Treasurer Sarah Perkins, and Historian Jaxon Stricker. The group meets twice a month during their lunch period to plan and organize events at VVES.

StuCo advisor Christy Perkins commented that the student council has “been awesome! Lots of kids want to volunteer! They’re loving it!”

The staff and faculty at VVES would like to thank the community for all their support! Especially to parents for participating in this wonderful fundraising event.