Talmud Torah’s Purim Carnival is Back!
By: Natalie Soroka, TT Society
March 8, 20223
The Purim Carnival at TT; an experience no other Edmonton school can replicate. After two long years of modified Purim events due to Covid, the celebration was back and better than ever!
Grade 6 students look forward in anticipation to the Purim Carnival each year, as they are given a leadership role in running the event. They brainstorm ideas for activities the whole school will enjoy, working together to execute their vision. Posters are prepared and hung on the school walls with enticing pictures and descriptions of the activities the students can look forward to. The most anticipated activity our Grade 6 students look forward to working on is the Haunted House! You can hear and see the excitement during the lead up to Purim as students go in and out of the gym stage, up and down the school library stairs, working on bringing their ideas to life. If you speak to any TT alumni you can be sure the Purim Carnival is one of the significant memories.
The lunchroom was extra noisy the day of the carnival, with kids chatting to their classmates about what activities they were going to first and how they couldn’t wait to join in the fun! On your mark, get set, and they’re off! I chose to follow one group of kids as they moved from station to station, and this group chose to go straight to the haunted house. As they waited in line for their turn to enter their energy was palpable! As the first group exited, you could hear comments, such as “that wasn’t scary at all”, to “something jumped out and touched me!”.
“Where to, next?”, one asked, and off they went to answer trivia questions in the kitchen. The colourful trivia wheel displayed numbers, and each number corresponded to different movie-themed questions, depending on whether a student was in Division 1 (K-Grade 3) or Division 2 (Grades 4-6). Round and round the wheel went as the first student stepped up to take a spin. Each student answered a question, and most received a prize for the correct answer. It was then off to the gymnasium for Purim Carnival Sports! The posters stated that you could participate in football, soccer, and hockey, and that’s just what this group did! They particularly enjoyed Armchair QB with the football. I even gave it a try! After getting hot and sweaty from sports, it was off to get a snack in Room 19 to fuel themselves for the next activities. The group picked up bags of chips and drank from their water bottles to quench their thirst.
While waiting for the kids to finish their chips, I took a look around to observe the variety of costumes students were wearing, and it was amazing! Such a variety on display throughout the hallways and classrooms, from Disney characters, to super heroes, to John and Ringo from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely-Hearts Club Band! Of course, TT school staff were decked out too. Each year, school staff come up with a group theme, and this year’s theme was FRUIT. There were 3 pineapples, 2 strawberries, 2 bunches of grapes, as well as a watermelon, blueberry, banana, lime and avocado. In addition, many of the TTELC educators dressed up to the delight of their students.
Of course, our hallways were lined with Purim artwork galore. Papier mache masks created by Gr. 3 students hung outside their classroom, while adorable multi-media carnival-style creations of students wearing silly costumes were displayed outside the Grade 1 class. Gr. 2 created fun artwork through playing a game titled “Roll a Picasso Art Game for Purim”. They had fun creating funny faces and also learned about Pablo Picasso and Cubism. Fueled and ready, the group set off to the lunchroom for some arts and crafts, including face painting, colouring Purim masks, and hair styling! Fifteen or twenty minutes later they were painted, styled and ready for the Games Station in Room 9. Students had the chance to win prizes by throwing a ball and trying to hit paper cups from different distances, as well as attempting to get a small ball into large cups on a table. Then we were off on a treasure hunt!
The Grade 6 students took turns running their assigned stations. It was a fun and challenging role for our student leaders. They brainstormed ahead of time, and made last minute preparations to be ready for the rush of students. Their energy and enthusiasm were contagious and they beamed with pride as they ran their stations with confidence. The younger students in the Early Learning Centre lined the hallways watching the costume parade as it snaked through the hallways and into the school office. Some parents of our younger K-6 students, as well as those in the ELC, joined in on the fun and could be seen taking pictures of their children joyfully participating in the Purim festivities.
By the time 3 pm rolled around, my group had finished participating in all of the stations and was ready to pack it in. I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into the life of a TT Purim Carnival student and that you almost felt like you were there!
