The Raffle
On this blustery winter morning, the students of St. Bernard’s were only thinking about one thing: the Raffle. For the month of February, boys have been buying raffle tickets for themselves, their family, and their teachers in the hopes to win one of over two hundred prizes. The culmination was a rousing ticket drawing in Friday Assembly.
The Raffle is run by the Parents Association. An incredibly diligent and creative committee of Iva M., Kim E., Begum T., Carey M., and Deb D. started their hard work in the fall, soliciting donations from the St. Bernard’s community. The most popular prizes this year were stays in Parisian apartments and various Apple products. But boys are not just interested in the fancy prizes. Over 500 tickets were purchased for a pizza party with the second grade teachers.
This year’s Raffle had a Harry Potter theme and Grade I parent Juliana O. painted the most beautiful illustrations for the raffle catalogue. Harry Potter fans amongst us loved seeing the St. Bernard dog flying on a broomstick chasing a golden snitch.
Now back to this morning’s assembly. After a very witty play performed by Mr. Brady’s fifth grade, the crowd was in a joyful mood and ready for the raffle drawing. Mr. Johnson pulled tickets out of glass jars and read each name aloud. The applause was deafening at points, with the loudest cheers going to the teachers. Ms. Flannigan won a well-deserved trip to the Bahamas and Iris Rodriguez won an iPad. Another highlight was seeing eighth grader William B. shrouded in a Harry Potter invisibility cloak.
A few hours later, the list of the other two hundred winners was posted in the lobby. The lucky boys rushed to pick up their prizes. The proceeds raised by the Raffle will be used by the Parents Association to support the school. The raffle committee, in addition to a small army of volunteer ticket collectors and counters, put a tremendous amount of work into this tradition, and we thank them all.
