Spring break begins today for students throughout the Golden Triangle and while students, and school personnel, generally appreciate the time away from classes, the week-long break often gives way to the chorus, “There’s nothing to do.”
The city of Columbus hopes to remedy that situation with four days of free activities designed to break that monotony.
“We are excited about the many different events that are scheduled for this week,” Columbus Mayor Robert Smith said. “We’ll have everything from basketball to movies to music. We encourage students to come and attend these free events and spend some time with their friends in a safe environment.”
The events are open to students from schools throughout Lowndes County.
Today, the Columbus High School gym will be open to boys and girls in grades 6-12 until 5 p.m. Meanwhile, the gym at Hunt will be open until 8 p.m. today and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
Also on Tuesday, the city will sponsor an outdoor movie night, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Columbus Soccer Complex. The event, which is open to all students and their parents, will also include face painting, balloon animals and other activities. The movie, “The Secret Life of Pets,” will be shown at 7 p.m. In the event of rain, the event will be held at the Trotter Convention Center.
On Wednesday, churches have been encouraged to host youth events. For information, parents should contact their churches.
The week of events concludes Friday with a “Spring Break Safety Jam” for students in grades 9-12. It will be held from 4-8 p.m. at the Riverwalk. Students are required to bring their school ID for the event. In the event of rain, the dance will be moved to Columbus High School.
All events will be held under adult supervision with the Columbus Police Department providing security.
“Kids like activities and for kids whose parents work, or for kids whose parents can’t afford to take them to the beach or something like that, these activities are very important,” said Rhonda Sanders, community police officer at the Columbus Police Department. “Any time you can keep kids busy, it’s a good thing. That was the main focus when we sat down to plans this week’s activities.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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