It has been a short but busy week across the Manchester Township School District (MTSD) as schools and departments all over town came together to give thanks to each other and their school communities in many fun ways throughout their school days!
(MTSD bus driver dressed as a Thanksgiving turkey brings laughs and fun to the students' ride on Wednesday!)
The school district joined at Manchester Township High School on Monday for the final phase of Helping Hands for Hunger. Helping Hands for Hunger has been a community-wide initiative for 16 years. It is a time when everyone comes together to provide Thanksgiving meals confidentially to Manchester school district families who need extra support during the holiday season. Representatives from each school gathered in the MTHS Auxiliary Gym to assemble the 100 food baskets for Manchester School's families in need. The baskets were made possible by the generous donations from the community. Thank you to all who helped the MTSD to provide support to our school families this holiday!
Manchester Township Middle School began their week with Ms. Stinemire-Tordik and Mrs. Strange's classes hosting their annual Thanksgiving feast. The staff and students made a shopping list of ingredients and shopped for the meal last Friday at ShopRite. They then prepared and cooked the meal for the last two days for serving to the staff and their fellow classmates. They were joined by 8th grade Mustang Mentors (a social club Mrs. Baumgartner, Mrs. D’Aloisio and Ms. Stinemire-Tordik) to enjoy their meal together. It was a wonderful life and social skills experience for all of the students.
Manchester Township Middle School then closed its week with the Third Annual Thanksgiving Shoot-Out Basketball Game! In a game where students vs. staff members, it was a fun and contentious match filled with lots of cheers and laughs. In the end, it was the closest game to date!
Over at Manchester Township Elementary School (MTES), the 6th Annual Day Before Thanksgiving Parade was held! Another great example of how our schools keep the fun in curriculum, this parade featured the hard work of the 3rd grade students who developed, created, and showcased their parade floats to the MTES community. The parade was live streamed to all of the classrooms and began with an official ribbon cutting by Principal Healy and Vice Principal Johnston. The parade mimicked some of the same traditions found in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, kicking off with the turkey float and ending with Santa coming to town! Before students headed back to class, they sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer as school mascot Maverick the Dragon danced to their singing.
Whiting Elementary School also held a parade on Wednesday. Their Balloons over Broadway Parade is based on the popular book featuring the puppeteer who invented the giant balloons that float in the Manhattan sky during the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. Whiting's students recreated the event today complete with a surprise by Santa riding in at the end of their event!
It was a great week of celebrations across the other schools which also hosted feasts, parades, and Thanksgiving parties in celebration. The Manchester Township School District wishes all students, staff, and community a Happy Thanksgiving! The school district is closed on Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving Recess. We look forward to welcoming students back to class on Monday, December 2.
