On Friday, February 15, Bruce M. Whittier Middle School celebrated Winter Carnival. Winter Carnival is an event celebrated at the end of Winter Spirit Week. Spirit Week and Winter Carnival are all about having fun, enjoying yourself, and showing as much school spirit and pride as possible.

Winter carnival was a jam packed day. The first thing Whittier Middle School did was have a school-wide Morning Meeting. It was also Whittier Wear Day, which meant that students from BMWMS were encouraged to wear their special Whittier shirts. After our morning meeting, all students and staff broke off into their roundtable’s to play a school trivia game. The trivia game questions ranged from pop culture to name that teacher. Mr. Andy Wilbur’s roundtable won.

Following the trivia game, students had a choice of activities. Those activities included snowshoeing, playing board games, and playing in an indoor soccer tournament. Eight teams participated in the tournament. First round games were very competitive, as all but one finished in penalty kicks. The second round and beyond will continue in the next couple of weeks.

Immediately after the choice activities, the Whittier Middle School staff, Team Oldschool, squared off against the eighth grade boys and girls in a “friendly” exhibition basketball match-up. This game was hyped up all week long, and the game itself certainly exceeded all expectations of students and staff. This game was all about having fun and bragging rights, and ended with an Oldschool victory. Mr. Larry Williams, the band teacher, was dominant inside, rebounding and scoring at will. After our heated basketball game, students and staff enjoyed a brief lunch break, in which there was a lot of good-natured boasting, and mild frustration.

After lunch, it was time for the “Great Race.” The great race incorporated all roundtable’s running around the school doing random tasks such as spoon threading, melting an ice cube without it going in your mouth, answering three trivia questions, or shooting a lay up, a three point shot, and a foul shot. Each student participated in one to two tasks. Mr. Andy Wilbur’s runner crossed the finish line of the chaotic race first. Mrs. Theresa Sampson’s roundtable finished second and Mrs. Kim Yorkey’s roundtable finished third.

Finally, at the end of the day, the middle school joined Poland Regional High School and finished off Winter Carnival by having a whole school assembly.

In the end, Winter Carnival was all about fun and school spirit. School spirit is what drives Bruce M. Whittier Middle School to be the special place it is. Maybe even more than having fun together, it was a great day to celebrate the community that is Whittier.