October 4, 2007

Fun, not academics, is focus of Williams Elementary movie night

By Chrissy Derksen
Special to the Times

About 400 people descended onto Williams Elementary School grounds to enjoy a movie on Friday, Sept. 28, which turned out to be a cool, fall night.

From left: Grace Wright, Stephanie Atterbury, Christy Carrasquilla, and Kerry Allen pause to pose at the pizza booth at Williams’ Movie Night on the Green 2007.

Williams Elementary School’s PTA offered a new idea for community building within the school. Dubbed, Movie Night on the Green 2007, students, parents and friends were invited to a non-academic, non-fundraising event that also included a movie.

Families filtered onto campus from all entries, burdened with chairs, blankets and toys, but all anyone noticed were the smiles on everyone’s faces. The movie was “Firehouse Dog,” about a canine Hollywood movie star who turned into a fire station rescue dog, becoming a hero and bonding with a boy who needed a friend.

PTA board member Stephanie Atterbury, who is vice president of Events and Recognition, and her co-chair Christy Carrasquilla organized the event and sold pizza, drinks and popcorn to pay for the movie.

The goal of the event was to better the Williams community by bringing families and friends together to enjoy each other’s company. The school’s PTA members believe family time spent together, especially having fun at school, creates wonderful memories and supports students’ positive perceptions of school.

“Our family loves to watch movies and even more so when we share them with the Williams community. The movie was fun and even our kids' grandfather enjoyed the large crowd filled with school friends. We even managed to avoid the ominous rain clouds, which ended up disappearing to reveal a beautiful stars and bright moon,” said Atterbury.

The event also provided quality time for parents to spend with their children, but focusing on fun at school instead of academics. There was excitement and joy as families chose their vantage points to camp out during the movie. Children and their parents sought out friends and made sure to wave and smile at acquaintances.

“My two sons, Kyle and Connor, couldn’t wait to bring their sleeping bags to the field when I told them it was going to be really cold. The dark clouds and threat of rain were a bit unusual for this time of year, but the event went on. Approximately 400 people attended. Our goal was to make sure everyone had fun and didn't have to wait in long lines at the concession stands. All the kids had a blast and we were able to raise funds for our PTA. Thank you to all the families that participated and made the evening a huge success,” said Carrasquilla.

It is really nice to take the time out to appreciate children and friends. Snuggling in blankets and bonding on a cool evening while watching a film that had the kids laughing and anticipating did just that!