Caption: Students and Parents gathered on PACA`s soccer field where they competed against each other in the sport of balloon volleyball. [by Cristina Meier]
On September 21, PACA Parent Academy and Family Day was hosted at PACA’s campus to celebrate our students, families, staff with some well spent time together and an opportunity to learn and grow through the lessons provided by Parent Academy.
The day’s activities began at 10:00am with a family check in at the main entrance of the school. Parents with small children were instructed to send their children to the back courts where coach Fabio Oliveira and a group of high school volunteers were waiting to entertain them.
There were fun activities and child care for pre-school and elementary students from 10:00 to 11:30 in the back courts which included soccer, basketball and other interactive games.
During this time, the parents attended a special session by guest speaker, Jan Domer, who was helping answer the question, “What does it mean to be a Dual Language Learner?” as she highlighted the challenges and benefits for students whose primary home language is different from English. Parents attending this event could relax and focus on the material presented because their children were under the care of Coach Fabio Oliveira and his team of high school and middle school volunteers.
One of the volunteers present from the freshman class was Marianne Meikle. She described her experience as “fun and chill.”
“For me, it was a great time that I spent with my friends,” said Meikle, “and I felt closer to the Community PACA as it once was, at least before the Pandemic in 2020.”
The high school student volunteers participated in this event in order to earn community service hours, which is an important requirement of each student’s yearly activities. For Meikle and others at the event, earning community service hours was not the only reason for being there.
“I had a great time even though I was serving my community service,” said Meikle. “I enjoyed playing soccer and balloon volleyball with other students and parents.”
After Parent Academy was finished, parents were reunited with their children and then split up into four different teams identified by a colorful bracelet provided. There was a yellow team, a yellow and black team, a blue team and a blue and black team. The teams competed against each other through well-known sports but with a unique twist.
In the volleyball tournament, children were matched up with a parent and they were given a sheet to spread out between them. Then, they were given a water balloon that they needed to toss over the volleyball net to the team on the other side. If someone on that team was unable to catch the balloon and it popped on the ground, the team was eliminated from the competition. This provided for moments of laughter as parents and children tried to capture balloons and avoid getting wet.
This was followed by a soccer tournament where each father or mother was told to hold hands with their child as they raised down the field to kick the ball into the goal. Even the goalie position was a team of a parent and child to block the incoming goals.
Being a part of the activities of the day was one of Meikle’s favorite moments from attending the event. Alexa Scattolini, a 3B student at PACA, also described Family Day as fun.
“My entire family came and I had a great time,” said Scattolini. “We played different games but futebol and ‘rock, paper, scissors’ were my favorite games. I will attend again next year.”
