Brooke school fair offered many things

WELLSBURG -- In addition to hundreds of backpacks, notebooks and other school supplies, Brooke County Schools' annual Back to School Bash offered much for students and their families to see and do.

Superintendent Jeff Crook said he likes to think of the event as a grand opening for the school district for the new school year.

And it had a carnival feeling, with children lined up to have their faces painted, receive a balloon animal, jump into a bounce house or get a close look at one of a handful of emergency response vehicles.

But there also were many booths manned by family-oriented agencies, school sports programs, clubs and departments that welcomed the opportunity to share information about their services, activities and goals.

Among them was the Brooke County West Virginia University Extension Service, which invited youth to help themselves to an assortment of free vegetables.

WVU Extension Agent Jason Rine said photos displayed on a video screen at the booth were from the summer 4-H camp held at Camp Russel at Oglebay Park and Resort and attended by about 150 youth from Brooke and Ohio counties.

The youth ranged in age from 5 to 18, with the younger children participating in a day camp and the older youth staying overnight.

The structure is similar to the 4H clubs, which include Cloverbud chapters for ages 5-8 as well as the older 4-H chapters for ages 9-18.

"It's good to be here and tell them about our activities and hopefully get them to try some veggies," said Rine as he watched children step up to a table filled with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes and corn on the cob.

Visitors to the high school could learn about the many career paths students may embark on there while completing core required courses.

The programs include: administrative support, accounting and finance, marketing management, computer science programming, principles of business, carpentry, auto collision repair, early childhood education, broadcasting technologies, electrical technician, biomedical science, welding, engineering, therapeutic services, through which students may become certified nursing assistants; and automotive technologies.

Manning tables at one of the school's two cafeteria areas were science teachers who engaged visitors in hands-on activities based on scientific principles.

Charles McCoy invited individuals to have a seat on his home-made hovercraft. Powered by a 40 volt leaf blower, it consisted of a thin, circular plywood board, fringed by a plastic sheet, it impressed many riders by gliding effortlessly a few inches above the floor.

McCoy said he created the device to be sturdy because "What's the point of building one if I can't ride on it?"

"We've had some pretty big football players on it," he added.

Nearby fellow science teacher Marjorie Boyd encouraged youth to climb onto a stationary bike and pedal as fast and steadily as they could to power a blender and hair dryer attached to it.

She noted generating enough human energy to activate the blender's blades was not difficult, but it became more challenging to power the hair dryer, especially the heating element needed to blow warm air.

As they pedaled, participants could take note of a display between the handlebars indicating the units of energy, such as watts and amps, they were producing.

Also on hand was Abby Wells, adviser of the high school's Esports Club, which has competed in video game competitions against 15 to 20 other schools, often without leaving their own building.

Wells was proud to say the club has placed first in three competitions and second and third in two others, earning banners for their school.

She said esports competitions also can be found at the college level and members of the club, in its third year, have received scholarships to join teams at Bethany College and Robert Morris University.

Wells, who teaches a course in video game development as well as other science courses, said the club attracts youth of various backgrounds and has helped to forge many friendships.

Crook said the Back to School Bash wouldn't happen if not for the efforts of many people.

He said Brooke County Schools staffers Karen Givens-Whetsell, Brittany Teeters and Meredith Hood deserve applause for coordinating the event.

Crook added Amanda DiMarzio oversaw the Stuff the Bus campaign with help from many middle and high school sports teams who accepted donations from many community members of the school supplies that were distributed on Thursday night.

The event coincided with an open house at nearby Brooke Middle School and the high school's Meet the Team Night, in which athletes in its fall sports were introduced at Brooke Memorial Stadium.

Capping it off was a fireworks display.