NES carnival to make a comeback

On April 19, Newcastle Elementary School will bring back its school carnival, Principal Brandy Holmes said in an email on April 15.

Holmes said the school is looking forward to having the event this year.

“2019 was probably the last time we did it due to COVID and scheduling,” she said. “It is not a yearly event. We try to do it every other year, but it depends on scheduling and other activities we may be hosting each year.”

The event is primarily for students and families, but organizers wouldn’t turn members of the public away if they wanted to participate, she said.

“It is a fun chance for students and families to enjoy some time in the school with staff,” Holmes said.

Around the school building, staff organize stations and games, and there will be cotton candy and popcorn, Holmes said. Activities will include a fish pond, dancing, a cake walk, bingo, cornhole and face painting. Tickets, which cost 25 cents each, are required to participate in the events, and the number of tickets that activities require varies.

According to a Newcastle Elementary Facebook page post, the carnival will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. April 19 and people can purchase tickets at the school in bundles of $5, $10 or $20. The school is at 5040 U.S. Highway 16 in Newcastle.

Proceeds from the event fund the next carnival or other events, according to Holmes.

“If we are able to save enough extra, we use it to purchase items for the school,” she said.

For example, the school’s last purchase that the carnival made possible was a picnic table, according to Holmes.

School Happenings

Notes from the April 10, 2024, meeting of the Weston County School District No. 1 Board of Trustees

• The Weston County Recreation Board has approved a request from the Wyoming Honor Conservation Camp and Weston County Sheriff’s Office for opening the weight room at 4 a.m. instead of 5 a.m. Sgt. Gar Ridenour, who works at the conservation camp, and other law enforcement personnel requested the change because their shifts begin at 5:45 a.m. The public will be allowed to use the facility during those extra hours.

• The school board approved the second reading of the golf proposal in a 7-2 vote. Trustees John Riesland and Tina Chick opposed the motion. Newcastle High School librarian Maggie Unterseher made a presentation during public comment suggesting that 18 Weston County School District high school staff are opposed to adding golf.

• The school board approved hiring a nonpartisan investigator for personnel matters. There was no discussion before the vote.

• Trustees approved providing employees with a third high-deductible health insurance plan option through the Wyoming Educators’ Benefit Trust.

• Superintendent Brad LaCroix said that, for the next board meeting, he anticipates that the cost for the bleed for the two water systems — the practice field, the football field and the reconditioning of the football field — will be around $400,000. Those dollars will come from funds earmarked for major maintenance.