FHMS Activity Night Helps “Seed a Haitian’s Need”

It was Friday night and the Francis Howell Middle School (FHMS) classrooms were dark, but sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students filled the gymnasium, lecture room and cafeteria. The occasion was the school’s second Activity Night of the year – an event designed to promote friendship and healthy activities, but also to support a good cause.  Admission to the event was a box of crayons – an unusual request unless you know that the school recently accepted a donation of 4,000 coloring books from HDA Publishing of St. Louis. Those coloring books and the more than 500 boxes of crayons collected during Activity Night will soon be on their way to Haiti in a cargo container courtesy of Ambassadors for Christ in Haiti (ACH).

“After watching news footage of children in Haiti literally drawing on cardboard or in the dirt, our students thought this would be a great idea,” said Jason Hughes, sixth grade science teacher and the school’s Character Council sponsor.

FHMS students had already been collecting shoes, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, lotion and band aids for health kits to send to Haiti.  They had also recently sent more than $500 to the Red Cross by selling ribbons and sponsoring a “Hats for Haiti” Day. 

“The coloring books and crayons will be a bonus for those children who have lost everything in the devastating earthquake,” said Hughes.

Physical Education department members, along with Mr. Hughes and Spanish Teacher Javier Lozano, worked together to coordinate the event.  PE Teacher Jessica McConnell set up a schedule of fun activities and PE Department Chair Laticia Garbarini coordinated the concession stand. Other school staff members volunteered to help and more than a dozen parent volunteers were on hand Friday night to sign students in, pop the popcorn, pick up the pizzas, and keep an eye on the more than 300 students who attended!

Basketball, dodge ball, and kick ball games rotated through the big gym while ping pong games, Guitar Hero, wii, and board games like Scrabble, Sorry, and UNO were played in the small gym. Movies filled the big screen in the darkened lecture room, while pizza, popcorn, candy, and soda were on sale in the cafeteria.  In the lobby, Mr. Hughes constructed a “jail” where students could pay 5O cents to have a friend “incarcerated” for up to two minutes unless they posted a matching amount of “bond money!” A crowd soon formed around the jail door and the popular event raised more than $200!

This is the second time this year that FHMS has sponsored an Activity Night. The first, on October 22, attracted 285 students who brought cans of food for their admission. The cans became part of the nearly 7000 pounds of food the school collected and donated to the St. Louis Food Pantry last fall.

Francis Howell Middle School picks a theme each year and this year it is “Seed a Need.”   “Our Activity Nights fit perfectly into our “Seed a Need” theme,” said FHMS Principal Amy Johnston.  “Through events like these, we move from just adopting a slogan to putting it into action!”