BERLIN – Members of Buckingham Elementary School’s PTA are hoping to expand the school’s art program with the addition of a kiln.
Parents of Buckingham Elementary School (BES) students are in the midst of a year-long effort to raise the roughly $6,000 needed to buy a kiln for the Berlin school. Two March events, a talent show and a children’s dance, have been scheduled to raise money for the cause.
“Buckingham is a great school,” said Jeff Smith, president of the PTA. “The PTA is happy to do what it can to support the educational efforts of the school.”
On Friday, March 6, BES will host a talent show from 6-8 p.m. to raise money for the kiln. That will be followed by a dance on March 20 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. that will also serve as a fundraiser. The money raised at these events will be matched by the Berlin Arts & Entertainment District, as the organization has awarded the PTA a Challenge Grant.
“They will match up to $3,000,” Smith said.
He’s hopeful that between the grant and the fundraising events, the PTA will be able to come up with the funding to purchase a kiln.
“The art programs in elementary school are all about introducing kids to all aspects of art,” he said. “What a kiln does is introduce kids to pottery.”
He added that because Berlin Intermediate School had a kiln, if students at Buckingham had access to one too they’d already know how to use it when they moved on to the intermediate school. Smith, who’s been involved with the PTA for about six years, said this was the first time in his experience the organization had taken on such a large project. In spite of the organization’s small size, he believes the PTA will be able to raise enough money for the kiln.
“I think it’s very doable,” he said.
He added, though, that the PTA could always use more parents. He said the dance, which is open to students in grades two through four, was only possible because it had been thought up and organized by parents. Parent Mandi Wells suggested the idea.
“I am a teacher at the high school and all of the dances that we hold are fundraisers for one group or another in the building,” she said. “I thought this could also be a nice fundraiser for the PTA at Buckingham.”
She said DJ Wax would be donating his time to participate in the event.
“We really can’t thank him enough for doing this for us out of the kindness of his heart,” Wells said. “I really think this will be a great time for the students to get together for some dancing fun.”
The dance will cost $10 per child. In addition to admission, they’ll each receive a slice of pizza and water. Additional snacks will be on sale to benefit the PTA and Buckingham’s student government association will be selling glow bracelets and necklaces.
Smith praised the parents who were working to make the upcoming events a success.
“That’s the kind of participation the PTA needs more of — parents to not only come up with ideas but also see them through,” he said.
For more information, visit the Facebook page for Buckingham Elementary School’s PTA.
