Northvail Gingerbread House Competition 2023
Thank you to our Northvail PTA for planning, organizing and hosting Northvail Elementary School’s first Gingerbread House Competition this winter! The competition included 27 Gingerbread Houses created by Northvail students from grades K-5. The houses were displayed in the Northvail Gym at the PTA’s Winter Wonderland event on December 5th at 6pm. Students and families enjoyed sipping on hot cocoa and viewing the creative candy house designs at the event. Six winning houses were awarded prizes donated by local businesses.
At the Winter Wonderland event, students also engaged in a number of fun and educational activities provided by the Northvail PTA and its partners. Students wrote letters to Santa, created winter-themed crafts, sang karaoke, enjoyed glitter tattoos, and wrote letters to soldiers to encourage and thank them during their time away from their families while on active duty. Families also had the chance to preview and shop at the Holiday Shop during the event. Additionally, the Lake Hiawatha librarians came with a “pop-up library” with books for students to browse and toys from their “Library of Things” collection for students to play with. The highlight of the event was having Santa Claus himself stop by for photos with families!
A very special thank you to PTA president Karaline DiBernard and PTA vice president Michele McCormick for planning the event and for all of the PTA parents and teachers who attended and helped as well. Also, a very special “hoot-out” thank you to the 16 NHS student volunteers from Parsippany High School who helped at the event. Thanks finally to our local business partners who donated items and prizes for the event: Hanover Lanes in East Hanover, Monster Mini Golf in Fairfield, Huckleberry Playground in Morris Plains, Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown, AMC Theater in East Hanover, Stop & Shop of Morris Plains, Kings of Morristown, and Whole Foods of Parsippany.
Thank you for making this a wonderful Wise Owl event!
Dr. Natalie Betz
Principal, Northvail Elementary School
