Dolton 149 Back-to-School Carnival Draws Hundreds of Students, Parents


Dolton 149 Back-to-School Carnival Draws Hundreds of Students, Parents

(Calumet City, IL) – Kicking off a new school year, Dolton School District 149 held its annual back-to-school outdoor carnival on Saturday, August 25, drawing hundreds of the district’s students and families for rides, activities, food, music, and more at the event.

The district’s carnival was held at Caroline Sibley Elementary School, located in Calumet City, featured bounce castles, a giant slide, a train ride, a face painting booth, a live a DJ, a photo booth, a Bozo bucket toss, a free backpack giveaway, a farmers’ market booth with fresh vegetables and fruit, haircuts, and free dental cleanings.

The district’s top administrator cited both the carnival’s “fun” for students and their parents and its importance in setting a “positive tone” for the new school year.

“Our annual back-to-school carnival was an enormous success providing a fun-filled day for students and their families from bouncing castles to dental cleanings to haircuts to face painting,” said Dolton 149 Superintendent Dr. Shelly Davis-Jones. “While education is serious, we want to set a positive tone with students and to associate fun with coming to school, making the new school year’s learning more enjoyable and easier, and our carnival kicks off our year- long effort to keep our students engaged in their studies.”

In addition to face painting and games, the Dolton 149 back-to-school carnival also provided free backpacks to each student who attended. Donors included Dolton 149 administrators, staff, teachers, Calumet City 4th Ward Alderman Ramonde D. Williams, and Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli, who donated 500 backpacks and school supplies to the event.

“I deeply appreciate the generosity of all those who donated bookbags,” said Dolton 149 School Board President Darlene Gray Everett. “Especially, I want to recognize Thornton Township Supervisor Frank Zuccarelli for his many years of charitable contributions to the carnival.”

To manage the carnival, which ran from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., district employees volunteered to staff the booths, manage the giant slide and bouncing castles, run the games, hand out backpacks, and handle dozens of other operational activities.

“The success of the carnival depends on the generous spirit of administrators, staff, and teachers donating their time to organize the event and manage the hundreds of behind the scenes activities necessary to make the day enjoyable for our kids and their parents,” said Gray Everett, who, herself, was busy throughout the day handing out backpacks and keeping a watchful eye out for younger kids.

Dr. Davis-Jones expressed gratitude to the Dolton 149 board of education for its support of the event.

“We must express our deep appreciation to the board of education for its vision and determined support for our back-to-school carnival,” said Dr. Davis-Jones. “Thank you to Board President Darlene Gray Everett, Vice-President Lolita Crisler-Liggons, Secretary Bertha Jolly, and Board Members Pamela Eldridge, Rayya Ghani, Zacarias Castillo, and Willbur Tillman.”

The district’s 2,622 students returned to class on August 19.

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