The Edwards Middle School held its annual holiday raffle on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 20 and 21, and it was an opportunity for sixth-grade students to “buy” gifts for family and friends for the holidays.
Rather than paying for gifts with money, students “spend” raffle tickets they have earned for demonstrating school wide core values. The Edwards Middle School core values include good attendance, respect for staff and peers, positive participation in class, and classwork and homework completion. The theme of this year’s holiday raffle is “Happiness doesn’t result from what we get but from what we give,” a quote from Benjamin Carson.
Every year for more than a decade, The Edwards Middle School staff donates new and lightly used items that students can “buy” to give as gifts for family members. Among the many items in the raffle are toys for younger siblings, clothes of various sizes, school supplies, beauty products, handbags, books, jewelry, and gift cards. Gifts are wrapped at school and students return home ready to spread the joy of giving.
Nancy Barnett, speech-language pathologist and co-organizer of the event with Stephanie Crement, said, “This is a great opportunity for our students to buy gifts for their families and to focus on the spirit of giving.”
Stephanie Lubin, Grade 6 Special Education teacher of 14 years, said, “We love seeing students take gifts home that they ‘earned’ for their family. We are so grateful to the generosity of the Edwards Middle School community for making this event possible year after year.”