About 275 people attended the Fox School District’s annual Back to School Expo on Aug. 11 at the C-6 Service Center in Arnold, said Sue Belleville, Fox C-6 child care services director.
“It was probably the best turnout we had for this event,” Belleville said. “It excites us to look forward to next year. It was really nice.”
The district began holding the expo in 2018 to offer free backpacks and other school supplies to families and provide information about various resources available through the school district and other community organizations.
Fox C-6 students are scheduled to begin the 2023-2024 school year on Aug. 23.
Belleville said the expo was open to any family in the district, but it was mainly geared toward families with elementary-age students.
She said students chose a free backpack, and then the families selected school supplies for the upcoming school year. Each of the district’s elementary schools has a supply list for each grade level, and those lists were available at the event.
Belleville said about 200 backpacks were given out.
“The items available included folders, pencils, spiral notebooks, paper, glue sticks, pens and things like that,” she said. “They (students and family members) would walk around the table and fill their backpacks with the supplies they needed.
“The line for school supplies really hammered home how many families benefited from that help for their kids, so they could start school with the appropriate supplies. That definitely was a neat sight to see.”
Belleville said about 20 representatives from the district, area businesses and local organizations were at the event to provide information about services available to families.
“They had great giveaways for the kids and their families,” she said. “In addition to the kids walking out with full backpacks of school supplies, they walked out with things like a smoothie from Smoothie King to little gadgets, coloring books, activities sheets, stickers, pens and pencils. It was pretty great.”
Some of the businesses and organizations at the expo included Bricks 4 Kids, a Lego-based science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program; Abra-Kids-Abra, a business that teaches children magic; Boy Scouts; Girl Scouts; 4H Club; the Rock Community Fire Protection District and the Arnold Police Department.
“We had a lot of organizations where parents could learn about the activities they offered, and we had information about resources that may be helpful to families, regarding health and welfare, banking, registering to vote,” she said.
A Fox C-6 school bus, a Rock Community firetruck and an Arnold Police cruiser were parked outside the service center for children and families to explore.
“(The school bus) was especially for those who had never been on a school bus before,” Belleville said. “The kids got to hang out with the firefighters and learn about the firetruck, and Josh Lambert with the Arnold Police Department is always a ball of positive energy. He spent a lot of time engaging with the kids one-on-one.
“The whole evening brought a smile to my face. It is great to see the community come together, support one another and watch the families enjoy an event for their children.”
Belleville said the backpacks and other supplies given away during the expo came from donations district counselors and buildings received. She said anyone interested in donating supplies for this school year or for future expos may contact the district’s Community Outreach Department at 636-282-6915 or email her at bellevilles@foxc6.org.