1500 Join in the fun at school fair!

The Alice Smith School campus at Equine Park may be a long drive away from the city centre, but that did not deter parents from joining in its annual summer fair on Sunday. By 10am, the school grounds were already packed with the adults who, along with their children, moved from one booth to another, checking out the activities that were lined up for the day.


The fair is one of two main events put together by the school's Parents and Teachers Association. The PTA organising committee begins preparing for it as soon as the December Christmas Bazaar has come to an end. PTA chairperson Sue Bennett said the committee decided on a different theme for the fair every year. "For this year it is Klassy Olympics", she said.


Sunday's fair had all the fun and thrills to make it enjoyable for everyone. There were the Egg and Spoon race, Three Legged race and Javelin race. Over the shaded areas, visitors tried their hands at the Coconut Shy, Bat the Rat, Lucky Lollipops, Bean Bag Toss or the Fun House Bouncer.


A popular game was Plate Smashing. On the ground were plates with photographs of Alice Smith teachers stuck on them. The students chose a plate and get three chances to break it with a tennis ball. Sam Hodge, nine and Stuee Keys, eight from the Jalan Bellamy campus chose to smash the plate that had their class teacher on it while 14-year-old Tom Savage picked his Language and English teachers.


Principal Nik Bishop described the fair as "simply terrific". "The PTA has done a superb job and the effort by all has made the fair a popular affair", said Bishop whose face was also plastered on the plates. But, his plate wasn't popular at the smashing corner.

Instead he was a favourite at the Sin Bin game. Bishop received numerous requests to sit in the bin (a cage, in this case) until someone bails him out at RM1. According to Bennett, monies collected from the games and food stalls would be channelled back to the school.

"The school is working towards installing a smart card system at the Equine Park campus", she said. The Design Exhibition corner showcased some creative furniture works by GCSE and A-levels students. Room dividers, barbeque sets, phone table, lamps, lazy chairs and picnic table were some of the items on exhibit.

The Capoera, a Brazilian martial arts performance, attracted attention as Rafael Barbosa Rosario and his team entertained the crowd with skilled moves that were backed by infectious drumbeats.

The fair, which alternates between the campus at Jalan Bellamy and Equine Park each year, attracted close to 1,500 people of some 40 nationalities.