Autumn enjoyment pervades St. Peter School event in Marshall

Costumed characters and other patrons arrived at the Martin Community Center Oct. 28 for St. Peter School’s annual dinner and auction.

The theme was “Fall Spooktacular.”

Guests had dinner, bid on silent- and live-auction items and took part in other fun activities throughout the evening.

This was the school’s 13th annual fall fundraiser. St. Peter School Principal Mary McCoy said the dinner and auction had previously been held in the school gymnasium, but the space seemed to get smaller and smaller. So, the fundraiser was moved to the Martin Community Center.

“There’s a parishioner who purchases this for us and donates it,” said Adrienne Beumer, the event’s coordinator.

Ms. McCoy said the money raised from this event go back to the school for the teachers and also for the students’ education. She explained there is what they call “Fund-a-Need” and there are two specific areas of need.

“One is for technology for the school,” she said. “The other is to lay tile (at the school) this year.”

The school is looking to purchase Chromebooks portable computers for each student to help promote the use of technology in the classroom.

The school has undergone some renovations with new paint and floor tile. Proceeds from the evening will also help to pay for that project.

The funds from the dinner and auction also help pay for things like teachers’ salaries and school field trips, Ms. McCoy added.

Ms. Beumer estimated more than 300 individuals were registered for the dinner, and many of them stayed after the dinner to bid and enjoy the other festivities.

Local donors continue to be generous.

“The donors are super supportive as they are every year,” Beumer said. “A lot of the businesses buy tables and send employees or donate it back to the school to give out to people.”

Many businesses purchase ads to put in the program, which lists all of the donors, the schedule of events, the prizes and pictures of all the grades — from preschool to eighth grade.

This is a huge event for the school. Everyone takes pride in the students and their education. It being close to Halloween, several participated as costumed characters. The dinner was delicious and everyone was in high spirits throughout the evening, and looked forward to next year.

Ms. Melies is a staff writer for the Marshall Democrat-News.

More of her photos from this event can be found at:

www.marshall news.com/gallery/fall-spooktacular