On Friday, Oct. 10, the PAWS Ambassadors held the first gym assembly of this school year. In this assembly, students got to participate in various games and activities to win points for their house. There were grade games, group games, and more. 

Each ambassador put a great amount of time and effort into ensuring that the assembly would run smoothly. This year, the PAWS Ambassadors team consists of 17 students; Kaylee Anderson (8), Mila Bair (8), Eli Bruce (8), Brooklyn Bundy (7), Zofia Cipriani (8), Elijiah Cole (8), Eva Harper (7), Riley Hartle (8), Mckenna Kalinoski (8), Mikaylee Kuntz (7), Nora Mohrbacher (7), Benjamin Perry (7), Lucas Schomburg (7), Jerah Shiring (8), Addison Stumpf (7), Lucy Tyler (8), and Bryce Wagner (8). 

“I think everything went well this assembly and all went as planned,” Mckenna Kalinoski (8), said. “Even though we didn’t get to the last game, we held everything together pretty well. Probably the only struggles were rushing and communication. I strongly recommend as a PAWS Ambassador to take notes during the run-throughs and meetings. We also all need to communicate more, but that will get better over time. No one really talked, then in some parts we got a bit confused, but we all pushed through.” Kalinoski stated. “I love being a PAWS Ambassador because it shows off all of your skills you’ve been working towards. It gives you many opportunities, and lets you take the lead in many things for our school.”

The PAWS Ambassadors had meetings and run-throughs about 2-3 days a week during the few weeks leading up to the assembly to ensure that everything would go as planned. During the meetings, the PAWS Ambassadors decided things like what time the assembly would be, what games to play for each grade, and in what order, as well as what small group games would be played. The fifth grade game was Four Corners, the sixth grade game was Musical Chairs, and the seventh and eighth grade game was Dodgeball organized by house. The small group games were blindfold games, Cup Grab, and a scooter race game. There are multiple teacher coordinators who help the PAWS Ambassadors. 

“I have been helping with the PAWS Team when they need me for the gym assemblies.” Mrs. Tami Smithmyer, gym teacher, said. “Before the PAWS Team, I was in charge of all the assemblies in the auditorium and the gym for 20 plus years.  I organized all kinds of assemblies and activities from lip sync contests, teacher vs. teacher competitions, all day dodgeball tournaments, intramural championships, & giant inflatables in the gym.” Smithmyer stated. “The teachers were always fantastic with helping out, too, and jumped  into any event we had.  I also had students help me over the years.  They were similar to the PAWS Ambassadors, only I usually had 6 students that helped me for everything.” Smithmyer said. 

Since most of the coordinators are teachers who have classes to teach during meetings, Mrs. Smithmyer will step in to help the PAWS Ambassadors when they need her to.  

“I always enjoy helping the team any way I can.  They are always so great! It’s nice having a team now instead of being responsible for everything myself. The Ambassadors did such a fantastic job and I thought overall everything went great!  I’m not used to having a time limit, so that was the only thing that held us back a little.  It went so fast,” Smithmyer said. “We always want to include as many students and staff as possible, and we also want events that are fun to watch. We can always improve, and when the next assembly is in the works, we will work on that.”