Hammond Elementary kicked off fall with a petting zoo and pumpkin patch last week.
Older students helped kids in the younger grades pick out a pumpkin, while classes took turns checking out the animals in a fenced off enclosure around the front of the school.
“The kids are just itching to pet donkeys, and mini horses and goats,” said Angela Bell, the parent advisory council vice president. “It is fantastic. It is right in their backyard. We don’t have to go anywhere or travel. And we are glad it didn’t rain!”
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, students visited the pumpkin patch ahead of Halloween each year. However, when travel was limited, the school PAC brought the event to the school, making it easier for students from all the grades to attend.
Adam Stanley, principal of Hammond Elementary, said having these kinds of fun events at school is part of the elementary experience that students will remember for a long time.
“It’s like things like concerts and performances that you see in school,” said Stanley. “Those are the things you remember. I still remember things that I did in Grade 2. I may not remember the details of the classroom, but I remember the details of days like this and that’s what it is all about. It is about making memories.”