By Sayellor Taylor-Blackstone

   Recently, Tempe Prep held its annual family picnic. The event is planned by the parent organization of the school to create a stronger sense of camaraderie. 

   “The picnic is a fantastic way for new students and families to involve themselves in the TPA community (and) returning students to form closer bonds with friends,” says junior Autumn Evdokimo.

   Maeve Waddell, a co-organizer, says that the annual picnic as well as other events put on by the school “brings the community together to do fun activities.”

   The picnic featured a “cakewalk, inflatable courses, lots of food, face painting and other fun activities,” says Autumn.

   As their candidate service project for the school’s National Honor Society, juniors Autumn, Maeve and Lilly Henderson all contributed greatly to the execution of this event.

   Autumn says they advocated for volunteer stations available to students looking to help make sure the event ran smoothly. Volunteers could “serve food or run games, all while gaining precious time in serving their community.”

   With the help from the Parent Organization, Maeve says that her and her peers’ main job was to promote “fellow students to sign up to volunteer and attend the picnic.”

   The execution of the event was not seamless, though. On the date that the picnic was originally scheduled, there was a heavy rainstorm that flooded Hollis Park and consequently caused a postponement. 

   Despite the obstacle, Maeve and her team were able to successfully plan the event for another weekend rather than cancel it. The biggest challenge was finding “the volunteers needed to fill every slot” after rescheduling the event, Autumn says.

   Even with storms and adjournments, Autumn is extremely content with how the picnic turned out, saying that “the turnout was fantastic.” She adds that it was nice to see “a bunch of teachers, parents, siblings and students having conversations” and furthering Tempe Prep’s bond.

   Maeve agrees, saying “it was so fun! The weather was perfect and so many people showed up; all the stations went great and people enjoyed the game and food.”