Student Activities
Student Activities at Thornton Creek
Thornton Creek offers many special activities for students throughout the year. Some of the activities listed below are subject to the lifting of COVID restrictions.
Art night
Art projects from all classes are displayed throughout the school and Thornton Creek families are invited to tour the school-turned-art-exhibit. This wonderful community-building event usually happens in the spring and is often combined with Athletic Skills Night.
Athletic skills night
Students showcase their athletic skills at this event in the Thornton Creek gym. Performances include gymnastics, unicycling, rollerskating, and many other physical activities. This event is often combined with Art Night.
Bike to school
Biking to school encourages physical activity and teaches children to safely navigate our busy streets. Biking groups meet at prearranged locations and travel to school on prearranged routes. Parent lead routes are chosen (one from the north and one from the south) to limit difficult up and down hills.
Camp
At teacher discretion, classes have the opportunity to participate in overnight camp. Camp dates and venues vary throughout the grade levels, and give students (and parents!) the opportunity to get out and explore nature together in our beautiful state.
Dress like a book character day
An event sponsored in the spring by our wonderful librarian, ‘Dress Like A Book Character Day’ is an opportunity to don a costume in the likness of a favorite book character.
Enrichment activities
When COVID restrictions are lifted, Thornton Creek hopes to offers after-school enrichment activities on a quarterly basis at an additinal cost to families.
Expedition night
Near the end of the school year, every class exhibits its expedition projects for the whole Thornton Creek community to see. Parents and friends are invited to visit the specially-prepared classrooms exhibitions and delight in the art projects, journals, reports, and projects displaying the culmination of a year’s work in expeditionary learning.
Family dance party
Students join their friends for a fun evening of dance and snacks. The kids take over the gym and dance to their favorite pop songs while parents socialize.
Family skate night
Join your friends at a local roller skating arena for some fun in-line or quad roller skating. Bring your own or rent. Great way to visit with friends, and make new ones, in a new and interesting way!
Family night at the Mariners
The school reserves a block of seats for TC students and family to attend a Mariner’s baseball game. Families may purchase as many tickets as they wish.
Field day
Field events and games are set up at outside stations for afternoon fun. Parents are asked to help out at the dizzying array of interesting games. This is a great time for kids to relax, socialize, and have fun! It usually occurs in the last week or two of the school year.
Harvest festival
On the Friday afternoon before Halloween, fourth and fifth graders host a harvest. The carnival is full of games, treats, and costumes. Families are welcome to join in the fun!
Poem in your pocket day
April is National Poetry Month, and we celebrate by choosing one day in April to celebrate ”Poem in Your Pocket Day.’ Having a favorite poem in your pocket means you are ready, willing, and able to pull it out and recite it to anyone, at anytime during that day. Sponsored by the TC Library.
Science fair
Children showcase their scientific skills at the Thornton Creek Science Fair, usually held in March. Organized by parents and designed so that any student at Thornton Creek can participate, the science fair is fun for exhibitors and spectators alike!
Nearly any type of project (STEAM: science, technology, engineering, arts, ormusic) can fit. In past years, we have had about 50 exhibitors and two hundred visitors. Adults, local high schoolers, and former TC graduates provide feedback for the exhibitors.
Talent show
In this Thornton Creek mega-event, students perform for up to three minutes in front of a huge crowd of fellow students and their families. Truly the biggest, boldest event of the year! Acts include singing, dancing, acting, musical performances, comedy, and other talents. Imagination is the limit at the talent show, which takes place at a local auditorium in February. Don’t miss it! Talent show information for 2020 can be found on the Thornton Creek Talent Show Facebook group.
Whistlestop dance night
In a post-Covid spring, we hope to invite the Whistlestop Dance Company to come to Thornton Creek for a few weeks to choreograph expedition-related dances with individual classes. After the dance group practices with the children, families are invited to Family Dance Night, to watch and participate in student dance performances.
Winter bazaar
This December event allows TC students to create and sell their own crafts, as well as purchase crafts from their fellow students. A small portion of the proceeds go to Thornton Creek Parent Group Fundraising, and the students keep the rest. The event takes place during the school day, after lunch. Once school is out, adults may set up craft booths in the cafeteria, where pizza is also sold. The bazaar ends in the early evening.