Witches, warlocks and Muggles united at Dolores Elementary School Thursday night for the annual “Schoolarama.”
The event – as you might guess – was Harry Potter-themed, and allowed families to mingle with teachers, children and parents while partaking in “magical” activities.
“It’s about community engagement,” said elementary Principal Gary Livick.
Each year, the Schoolarama has a different theme, from superheroes to Dr. Seuss. They alternate between more academic-oriented years and more strictly “fun” events, Livick said – this was a fun-focused year.
Parents and students snaked through the elementary school, making potions with the kindergarten teachers, flying mini-broomsticks out of corn cobs and sticks in the third-grade room, and writing poetry using words drawn from the Sorting Hat in the second grade classroom.
“It’s really exciting because we get so many families,” said kindergarten teacher Kristin Pejsa. She and her partner teacher, Lisa Mummery, guided visitors through a potions-making activity after conducting a trial run with their kindergarten students.
Each class also collectively created a piece of artwork that was up for auction, with proceeds going to support Southport Elementary School in Panama City, Florida, which was impacted by Hurricane Michael this fall. The artwork included a variety of mediums, ranging from photography to painting to crayon pieces.
In total, the Dolores school community raised just over $1,100 to support the Florida elementary school, both through the art auction and through donations collected at the event’s photo booth.
