The Annual Family Picnic

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The day of the picnic was a NUT day, so students wore colourful summer clothing

 

The Family Picnic is a highly anticipated event that’s become a May tradition at IHMS for the past 22 years. The picnic is not organized by the school – it’s organized by the parents of the school, the Parent’s Guild.  It’s open to all current IHMS students and their family members. It’s also open to former students who have already graduated and moved on to other schools.  In fact, the picnic is a great way for alumni to revisit the school to reconnect and socialize with old friends in the school community.

 

A few of the IHMS graduates who attended the Family Picnic

 

The picnic takes place on the playground at the end of the school day, and unlike most other IHMS events, it has only one purpose – fun! There are no fund raising concerns, no silver collection, and no obligations whatsoever except for one pre-cut, nut free home baking. It’s a great way for members of the school community to enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed and informal setting.

 

The Family Picnic is open to all IHMS students and their parents, but it’s also open to other members of the IHMS community, including staff members.

	This year’s Family Picnic was scheduled for Thursday, May 30. The picnic began right after dismissal and ran until approximately 5:30 p.m. Parents didn’t have to make a special trip to attend the picnic because they had to be at the school to pick up their kids anyway.

 

A few of the junior high students at the Faniky Picnic

 

A lot of the parents brought lawn chairs and socialized while their children enjoyed the various activities planned by the organizing committee. As students played with their friends and parents socialized with other parents, these positive interactions help create an important sense of community within the school.

 

Students snacked on cotton candy, popcorn, and Freezies before the food was served at 4:15

 

Everything about the Picnic was informal – families came when they could, and stayed as long as they wanted. Admission was only one pre-cut home baking per family. 

 

Students and parents relaxing in the playground during the picnic’s informal setting

An important factor in the organization of the Family Picnic is the weather. Since the picnic usually takes place outside on the school playground, rain or even the possibility of rain can force organizers to move everything indoors. Fortunately, the weather was perfect for this year’s picnic. Nevertheless, the organizers decided to set up the food table inside the gym rather than on the playground. This was a smart decision – food needs to be handled properly, and the controlled environment of the gym was much safer and more hygienic than exposure to the sun. wind, dust, and other potential problems.

Grade 6 students enjoying the picnic. Yes, some of them enjoy face painting!

 

The day of the picnic was also a N.U.T. day, and students were encouraged to dress in comfortable and colourful summer wear. This was a great idea because it was a very pleasant day for a picnic.

 

A few of the younger students at the picnic dressed in casual and colourful summer clothing

 

At 4:15 p.m., Mr. Picklyk announced that the food was being served right after Father Isadore Dziadyk, OSBM led everyone in prayer. People lined up to eat immediately after Father Isadore said grace.

 

 

Mr. Picklyk (top photo) and Father Isadore Dziadyk, OSBM (bottom photo)

 

Everyone lined up for the food table, which had a delicious assortment of homemade food. The line was long, but moved quickly thanks to parent volunteers serving the food. In addition to barbecued hotdogs, there were salads, freshly cut vegetables, and various other delicious homemade foods. A dessert table was set up nearby with the pre-cut home baking that parents brought as admission. Coffee, orange juice, and water were also readily available for anyone who wanted something to drink.

 

 

Students and parents at the food table, the dessert table, and the beverage stations

 

Hotdogs were the main food item at the Annual Family Picnic. They’re cheap and easy to BBQ. However, not everyone enjoys eating hotdogs, so the organizers made sure that alternative food items were available.

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As in the past few years, there was one main attraction at the Family Picnic – an inflatable bouncer. This was a large air-filled structure that children crawled up on one side (after removing their shoes), in order to bounce or slide down the other side. It was mainly popular with the younger students, and most kids had to wait in line for a few minutes to try it out.

 

The main attraction at the Family Picnic was an inflatable “bouncer” that was set up in the gym. This year’s bouncer was similar in style to the type rented by the organizers for the past few years. Some of the older students preferred an impromptu game of basketball.

 

Parent and student volunteers managed to keep the picnic running smoothly. The student volunteers, who were all from grade 7 and 8, did a wonderful job in reducing the number of parent volunteers needed. This gave more parents the chance to relax and spend time with their families. Workers were needed for the inflatable bouncer slide, the food tables, the two barbeques, and the cotton candy machine. These stations also required some heavy lifting in setting up and tearing down afterwards. Parent volunteers were also busy working behind the scenes preparing the food and drink for the picnic.

 

Parent volunteers grilled hotdogs on the two BBQs (top 2  photos) and working the cotton candy machine (the bottom 3 photos),

 

A table was set up for people to enter their name for a free raffle of donated prizes. This year, there were some excellent prizes. Every family attending the Picnic was eligible to enter their family’s name once.

 

 

Student volunteers worked at the raffle table where families entered their names to win a door prize. Student volunteers also did face-painting, and ran various games on the grassed area of the playground.

 

Grade 7 and 8 student volunteers did face-painting (top 3 photos), applied tattoos (next 2 photos), and ran various games on the grassed area of the playground (bottom 4 photos).

 

Everything about the picnic seemed to go as planned, and everyone appeared to have a good time! Thank you to Mr. Arnold Dumlao for organizing the entire event, and all the volunteers who made the family picnic the success that it was.

“Let’s all go to the lobby…”

 

Grade 4 girls showing how excited they are for the Family Picnic