For students of all ages at Conestogo Public School, it is time to lace up those dancing shoes and get ready to hit the floor. Organizers hope a school-wide dance-a-thon Mar. 11 will yield big results as they raise money to replace their gym’s old basketball nets and backboards with new ones.
“We are hoping to raise about $5,000,” explained Allison Gramlow, a member of the Conestogo PS parent council. “We are hoping that the students will go out and talk to their families and friends about it.”
Pupils have been sent home with pledge forms to support their day of dancing, and prizes will be awarded to the class that brings back the highest percentage of completed forms. Additionally, students who return a completed pledge form will be entered into a draw to win a free lunch with their school’s principal.
The dance has a ‘beach party’ theme and will be held throughout the day in the gym, with students in Grades 2 through 6 dancing first between 9:20-10:40 a.m., followed by the Grade 7s and 8s at 11:20 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. At about 2, the JK, SK and Grade 1 students will be dancing until about 3:10 p.m.
To accentuate the beach theme, each child will get a glow-in-the-dark bracelet and a Hawaiian lei upon entering the gym. Gramlow predicted they won’t think about it so much as a dance-a-thon than as a party.
“I think it will be really fun for the kids to be able to dress up in their beachwear on the Friday before March Break,” she explained. “I think they’re really looking forward to it.”
