AS THE END OF THE school year approaches, one local campus decided it was time to start a new tradition: a carnival of fun, games, food and families.
Our Lady of Fatima Academy hosted its first Falcon Fest on April 18 on the field of its San Clemente campus. The event was a chance to focus on community, said principal Jennifer Jukic, who is in her second year as head of the school. Jukic said Falcon Fest is part of an opportunity to refresh, ensure the community is strong and that the school is one of the best in Orange County.
“It’s about family and community,” Jukic added. “My main goal is for the kids to feel loved and supported and to have happy memories of being in their school from TK to eighth grade.”
ADRIANA GARCIA RIDES THE INFLATABLE SLIDE AT THE FALCON FESTIVAL. PHOTO BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
Falcon Fest offered families the chance to jump in a bounce house, go through two different obstacle courses, capture memories in a photo booth and try their hand at several carnival booths. Hanging over the event was a 45-ton, all-terrain crane with its 150-foot boom cantilevered over the scene. It was dangling a net full of balloons — some with prizes in them — that were dropped on the waiting children.
The students were also excited to try to dunk their teachers in a dunk tank, said Erin Raith, a mother of three who serves as president of the Parents of Fatima.
“It’s pretty awesome to see the community come together to make memories for the kids,” Raith said. “We are all here because we want our families to have these great memories of getting together, our friends on the field, bouncing around — just really enjoying everyone’s presence. The community at Our Lady of Fatima Academy is different than at any other school because we are so close.”
There were burgers, açaí bowls, popcorn, candied apples and snow cones to enjoy. Many students won an entire cake at the cake walk booth.
Second-grader Gwen Corning, 7, helped her 2-year-old sister Maggie walk around the numbered circles until the music stopped. Then she helped Maggic pick out a pink “Wicked”- themed cake when she won.
“I love it!” exclaimed Corning.
First-grader Charlee Pattison, 7, said the carnival was “really fun.” She was mostly looking forward to dunking her teacher, Erin O’Shea, despite liking her. Pattison and her siblings were trying to win a goldfish by throwing a ball into a glass fishbowl. While admiring her newly won goldfish in its clear plastic bag, Pattison wasn’t ready to name it quite yet.
“I don’t know,” Pattison said of the name. “That depends on the whole family.”
Winning a fish was on eighth-grader Celia Brutocao’s wish list for the day, but first she wanted to “bring a little joy to the kids” at the face painting booth. Brutocao and her fellow eighth-graders came up with the idea for the booth and oversaw painting whatever the students wanted: mustaches, unicorns, mermaids, trucks, fairies and more.
Brutocao was excited at the new school tradition and was already planning to come back for Falcon Fest next year. She said she loves Our Lady of Fatima Academy, especially getting one-on-one time with teachers, which she credits with helping her advance to sophomore-level math. She hopes more students will enroll.
“I just really love this school so much and I’d love to see a bunch more kids come here,” Brutocao said. “All the kids are so nice, and I just think it’s a really great environment to grow up in.”