Winter Wonderland Brings Flurries of Fun and Literacy-Themed Activities to Planet Ford Stadium
For the third year running, Spring ISD’s Winter Wonderland event returned to Planet Ford Stadium on Friday, Dec. 8, bringing along with it flurries of fun and an evening of literacy-themed activities, games and holiday cheer for hundreds of area families. The annual extravaganza is organized by the district’s Family and Community Engagement Department, in partnership with other district offices and Spring ISD campuses.
“We absolutely love hosting our Winter Wonderland event each year, and it’s heartwarming to see how it has become an annual holiday tradition for many of our families who have returned each year as their children grow,” said Executive Director of Family and Community Engagement Tranita Carroll. “It takes the combined efforts of many different people working for months to bring this event to our community each December, but it’s worth it when we see the joy on the faces of our young people.”
The free annual event – first held in 2015 at Dekaney High School – brings together a small army of staff and volunteers from around the district, all working together to create a magical experience for students and their families. For this year’s event, Spring ISD departments helped design and run 16 themed activity stations for students and their families, with help from student volunteers from the district’s high schools.
For district parents – like Caryl Williams, whose son Brandon attends Marshall Elementary School – Winter Wonderland offers a chance to enjoy an outing together, and to take a much-needed break from homework, video games and indoor play.
“It’s wonderful, it really is,” said Williams, who complimented the events’ organizers and thanked the district for making it available to all families for free. “I’m just enjoying it, and as a parent, it’s good to get him out – not playing games and stuff at home – and to be out and about with the other parents and kids. I’m loving it!”
A hallmark of the event ever since its inception has been giving every child in attendance the chance to go home with a brand-new book of their very own to keep and enjoy. This year, that effort was super-charged thanks to the generous support of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Through the AFT’s Reading Opens the World program, the Spring AFT chapter helped secure a grant earlier this fall for some 40,000 books, along with an additional $10,000 First Book Marketplace credit to select and purchase additional high-quality volumes for use in district classrooms.
According to Spring ISD Superintendent Dr. Lupita Hinojosa, the grant-funded book donation made possible by Spring AFT members supports the core mission of Winter Wonderland – to spread the joy of reading and learning.
“Our children get the opportunity to come here and select their favorite books. And guess what? All for free!” Hinojosa said. “They get to take these books home, they don’t have to return them, they get to enjoy them at home. They will become part of that child’s home library.”
As part of the holiday gift-giving, funds were also donated during the event to the Spring ISD Education Foundation by BMG Money to help fund innovation grants for Spring ISD teachers.
“We’re continuing to grow and engage with additional stakeholders,” Durant said. “Our partners are coming in and working with the district, and not just passing through – they’re connecting, they’re staying engaged, they’re involved with the community, they’re involved with our students, and we’re all making a difference. We’re making a difference in our number-one resource, which is our students.”
For many attendees, Winter Wonderland now offers multi-generational fun for the whole family.
Alexis Paiz grew up in the district and graduated from Spring High School in 2015. This year, she attended her very first Winter Wonderland – now as a Spring ISD parent – together with her daughter Violet, who started Pre-K at Ponderosa this fall, and with her own mother, who came along to enjoy a family night out.
“It’s been awesome,” Paiz said as she and her group took a break between activity stations. “All the volunteers were nice and really kind. It makes me want to come back and volunteer for it.”
Paiz’s mother, Desiree Deleon, agreed, adding how impressed she was with the planning behind the large event that serves so many students and families.
“Everything was well-organized, and everybody was really nice,” she said. “With all the games and everything else, it was just perfect.”
Source: Spring ISD
