WEBSTER — Just when it seemed it would never stop raining in Monroe County, the skies cleared May 28 in time for Mission Day at Holy Trinity parish and school.
“Today, we were praying for good weather, and we finally got it,” said Christopher Meagher, Holy Trinity School principal.
Scores of children ran all over the parish grounds, playing games at various booths staffed by their classmates. Hundreds of adults and children attended the annual event, which is designed to raise money for a wide variety of charities, according to Meagher. Mission Day features games, prizes, popcorn, baked goods and other attractions. The event raised approximately $3,000.
Meagher noted that Mission Day was kicked off by an egg-dropping contest at the school. Students were asked to design containers that would protect an egg from breaking when dropped three stories, he said, and the winning designs were made by Brynn Sofianek and Joshua Maier, both sixth-graders.
Barbara Hassler, Mission Day organizer, said she and her husband, Jim, sent four children through Holy Trinity School and wanted to continue to support the institution even after all their children had completed their education there.
“I think it’s great for the kids to have a good time,” she said. “Every kids looks forward to this. Everyone is happy here.”
Two fifth-graders, Billy Davis and Nicholas Malahosky, staffed one game table where participants had to guess which color would turn up on a hexagonal block that the boys rolled.
“It’s fun, but it gets boring after you do everything a million times,” Billy said.
Another fifth-grader, Joseph Bianco, noted the game was popular, and that they were running out of prizes for boys. However, several “girly prizes” remained, he said, pointing to an array of “Little Princess” kites. Billy added that one prize was inflatable, blood-shot eyeballs, though he noted such a prize would “give me nightmares.”
“Mission Day is really fun,” Nicholas said. “All the games are really fun here.”
Fifth-grader Chelsea Buttaccio voiced similar sentiments.
“It’s fun to win games, and it makes you feel good to get prizes you can play with at home, and you get to eat junk food and talk with your friends,” she said.
Carly Wisnowski and Clair Riley, both sixth-graders, staffed a birthday-wheel game in which contestants hoped that the wheel stopped on the month of their birthday. A red-haired boy in a baseball cap won a prize when the wheel landed on the month of October.
“It’s fun to see how people react when they win,” Carly said. “A lot of people get into it since I’ve worked here.”
Mission Day even attracted some Holy Trinity alumni, including Adam Lindsay, a freshman at Irondequoit’s Bishop Kearney High School. Adam said he volunteered to sell cotton candy at the event as part of a service project he had to complete for school. Raspberry and strawberry seemed to be the most popular flavors, he noted.
Hassler, who seemed to be everywhere at Mission Day, took a brief break and looked around, smiling.
“If the kids are happy, everyone wins,” she said.
