Midvale Elementary PTA Thanks Families with Dinner and a Movie

By Kelly Cannon | [email protected]

Midvale - Over 300 people piled into Midvale Elementary to enjoy a family dinner and movie night hosted by the PTA. In its fourth year, the annual event was hosted on Jan. 28. 

“It’s a free dinner to all families who have students who go to Midvale [Elementary],” Leezell Watts, Midvale Elementary PTA president, said. 

Watts explained the purpose of the event is to express gratitude to families in the community. 

“We want to say thank you to the parents for the support over the past year,” Watts said. 

The evening started with a quick dinner served by PTA volunteers. Every year, pizza and soda are served with a cookie as dessert. 

This year, the PTA showed “Minions” in two separate rooms, one in Spanish with English subtitles and one in English with Spanish subtitles. Midvale Elementary is a dual-language immersion school with Spanish as the target language. In years past, the PTA has shown “The Muppets” and “The Lorax.” 

The dinner and movie night used to be held in September outside on playing fields. For the past two years, the event has been held in January indoors due to greater numbers.

“We’ve had more success doing it in January than we ever did having it in September,” Watts said. 

Stacey Fugal and her husband brought their three kids to the dinner and movie night. Her 7-year-old daughter, Krista, attends the second grade.

“My kids wanted to see ‘Minions,’” Fugal said, explaining none of them had seen it before.

Fugal and her family attended the event last year but had to leave before the movie started. She found out about the event through email and the fact her daughter has not stopped talking about it for weeks. 

Kim Grove, a third-grade teacher at Midvale Elementary, brought her son, Zayden,  who also attends the school, to the event. Zayden also had not seen “Minions.”

“He’s really excited to see it,” Grove said. 

As a teacher, Grove said these types of PTA events are very important for the community. 

“It really builds a sense of community,” Grove said. “And that sense of community makes us feel more bonded and makes for a better family atmosphere.”

The Family Dinner and Movie Night is just one of several different PTA events held over the school year. During Halloween, the PTA hosted a pumpkin parade where students carved and painted pumpkins that were then put on display for the rest of the school to see. Throughout the year, the PTA also hosts spirit nights where students and their families are encouraged to eat out at specific restaurants such as Pizza Pie Cafe or Chick-fil-A. The restaurants are decorated for the schools. 

Other PTA events include a book fair held in February during parent/teacher conferences. The PTA will also provide dinner for teachers during those evenings. In April, there will be a week dedicated to staff appreciation where teachers and staff members will receive gifts and goodies throughout the week. 

The biggest event is the annual carnival, which also functions as the PTA’s main fundraiser. The carnival is scheduled for the end of the school year on May 26.