Sweet reward for Willis Elementary students

Sweet reward

Robert E. Willis Principal Kathy Price and Assistant Principal Billie-Jo Fintel were in a sundae state of mind, on a Thursday.

Dressed in ponchos and goggles and sitting in blue inflatable pools Nov. 7, the pair laughed as select students and staff members at Willis dumped vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, sprinkles and cherries atop their heads and bodies.

The event was a reward for students beating their fundraising goal of $55,000 during the school's annual walkathon in September.

"Luckily, it was ice cream and not a hot fudge sundae," Price said, chuckling. "It kept us cool."

Chalk one up to education 

Pixar animated characters Buzz, Woody, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, Forky, Evil Emperor Zurg and Stinky Pete from the four "Toy Story" movies have left their mark on Braden River High School's campus.

More than 400 students, including junior Taylor Murphy, from Braden River High School and Carlos E. Haile Middle School made an 800-square-foot chalk mural of the characters Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. 

"We love the idea that Pixar is pretty much master storytellers," said Bill Ferrell, a commercial art instructor at Braden River High. "Because we're a commercial program, we're focused on products and having a professional career as an artist, and a lot of that is storytelling."