Fall Fest is an annual event held at Fords Middle School that took place this year on Wednesday, November 27th, 2024 from 9am-12pm. This event celebrates the fall season with an amazing experience at school and allows everyone at FMS to enjoy a fun-filled day gathering with friends and starting their Thanksgiving break on a positive note. Throughout the day, there are many exciting activities, along with excellent food, for both students and faculty.
When you first walked into the building, you couldn’t help but notice the decorations. The students and staff who made the decor had really done an excellent job. They had made paper chains, fall colored balloons, and signs for the different activities. There were also hay bales and pumpkins scattered throughout the school. These decorations really did add a dash of fall to the halls.
There were so many activities to meet all of the different interests of the FMS students. If you were looking for a place to let your creativity shine, then the 6th grade hallway was the one for you. At one end of this hallway, there was Legos, bracelet making, and face painting. Many kids seemed to love this part because they were able to show off their skills. 6th grader, Ashley, had said, “My friends told me that they didn’t have the Lego room other years, so I’m really glad that they added it this year. Some kids think that Legos are just for little elementary schoolers, but they’re actually a great way to learn problem-solving skills and be creative!” On the other end of the 6th grade hallway was a whole tech space. There was Just Dance, dozens of video games, and Rock Band.
In the gym, you could play different sports like soccer, basketball, and volleyball. There was also an inflatable where students could bounce their way across giant boulders, trying to make it successfully to the other side. In the cafeteria, there was another obstacle course which seemed to be a big hit. Students were competing to see who could make it through the course first, climbing and twisting through the obstacles before crashing down a giant slide at the end. Speaking of big hits, in the Media Center, there was a whole Hot Chocolate Cafe. This was a great place to chill, with soothing music and fairy lights creating a calm, cozy, fall getaway. You could just sit down with your friends while sipping hot chocolate and munching on a cookie.
The most crowded hallway seemed to be the 8th grade hallway because of one of the newest additions to Fall Fest…the Slime Factory! No student wanted to miss out on the chance to experience this, especially not 7th grader, Jose, who said, “It’s fun, but Fall Fest and Summer Fest last year were a lot of the same games, so it’s good to do something different. I used to make slime years ago, but haven’t done it in a while, so the Slime Factory was cool to have this year.” Across from the Slime Factory was a movie room where you could kick up your feet, sit back and relax. Further down the hallway was the arcade area. In this part of the 8th grade hallway, you came across popular carnival-style arcade games such as Creeper Down, Ring Toss, Balloon Pop, and Can It. If you wanted to add some ink, you could also try the tattoo room.
In the 7th grade hallway, there was a face paint room, movie room, tattoo room, and karaoke. It was pretty similar to the activities in the other hallways, however, there was one party that many students were particularly interested in. This room was calling and training all future bakers on their cookie decorating skills. That’s right, it was a cookie decorating room!
In the hallways, you could find Guess How Many, where you guessed how much candy was in three different jars. To capture the memories from the day, students also visited the photo booth. Many students loved this because they knew the photo booth would help them remember this amazing experience. Nearby in the art room, you could take a break from then fun to get snacks such as pretzels and water. Then there was the Calm Room, which many people, including myself, really enjoyed. This room was the perfect place for students to relax and get away from the loud crowds in the halls. This room had countless amount of activities in just one place. There was cookie decorating, bracelet making, trending ornament making, dough-making, Lifesavers to savor, and apple cider to sip on.
Overall, this was an amazing event and experience for all. Many students had truly made some amazing memories that they couldn’t get elsewhere. 8th grader, Tyler said, “This is my third Fall Fest and it’s always a good time. I’m sure there won’t be activities like this next year when I get to high school, so I’m glad that I have the chance now to hang out with my friends and have fun.”
