Family Fun Day Returns in April

→ By Joseph Giles (‘24)

On Saturday, April 6, the HBA community will once again gather for an all-school Parent-Teacher Fellowship (PTF) Family Fun Day at the elementary campus. The event, formerly called the Fun Fair, last took place in 2019. This year, in addition to food, games, prizes, a baked goods sale, and entertainment by students, there will be a Color Run.

The Color Run is a race with a twist as students will be given colored powder to throw at each other during the race. HBA PTF president Sandy Chong hopes “[the] kids can participate in a racecourse and get doused.” The elementary campus held a Color Run in March 2022 and it was a successful event, according to elementary vice principal Trisha Lee. “We gave each student a small bag of color powder for a ‘color war,’ where they could throw the powder at each other. It was fun to run around with the kids and throw powder at each other. There was lots of laughter and joy,” she recalled. According to Lee, the event raised a net profit of $55,000 which is being used to fund student activities, teacher appreciation days, and new playground equipment.

In the past, the HBA Fun Fair was able to raise funds for significant school campus improvements. According to Chong, these included a new junior kindergarten playground, new lunch tables for the elementary campus, outdoor tables for the middle school, and the large projection screen in the high school gym.” This year, the goal of the Family Fun Day this year is to raise $100,000 to fund similar projects. Chong added that the money raised will also go to PTA-sponsored events like grade-level fellowships, the PTF Kick Off Dinner, Parent Cafés, and Ohana Nights. In addition, the PTA funds help to provide snacks at student study sessions as well as congratulatory gifts for seniors.

In order to reach the goal of raising $100,000 dollars, the PTF hopes that every student can raise $100 each. To encourage students to participate, there is an incentive system that includes a range of rewards from stickers to USB chargers. All HBA students received an information packet to take home about the fundraising effort. Information on the Family Fun Day can also be found at www.hba.net/familyfunday.