NTMS Pancake Breakfast And Raffle This Weekend In Bonney Lake

BONNEY LAKE, WA — Dieringer School District families will celebrate this weekend by hosting the annual North Tapps Middle School pancake breakfast and raffle fundraiser to benefit the school's graduating 8th grade class.

This year's pancake breakfast will be held at North Tapps Middle School (NTMS), 20029 12th St. E. in Bonney Lake, from 8 to 11 a.m. Saturday, May 4. Tickets are $5 per person or $20 per family, and they can be purchased from any NTMS 8th grade student or at the school's main office.

Since at least 1992, NTMS has hosted the annual fundraiser event to give graduating 8th graders a special field trip, a graduation ceremony at a local high school, a reception for families, and a student celebration at the school, as well as a class quilt that each student will have an opportunity to help decorate.

Serving roughly 1,500 students in kindergarten through 8th grade, Dieringer School District (DSD) is reportedly unique to the area in that it does not have a dedicated high school for elementary and middle school students to advance into. Instead, DSD students are allowed to choose into which high school they'll matriculate after 8th grade.

This often means 8th grade at NTMS is the last year students who've attended the same class for nearly a decade of their childhood will be together.

"It is a time when families who met in kindergarten, moved up through the district, played sports together, (and) attended school functions together have an opportunity to come together one last time in a celebration of the students and the district," DSD community member Andrea Henschell told Patch. "The school district is known for its high standards of education and performance. To celebrate the dedication of the students and commitment of our community to the schools, the 8th grade class is offered an actual graduation ceremony."

To ensure all eligible students can participate in the ceremony and corresponding activities, the school hosts the annual fundraiser while parent volunteers solicit donations for raffle basket items and the ingredients necessary to put on the pancake breakfast.

To be eligible, however, "students must meet a set of standards established by the school board," Henschell explained. "This includes a combination of grades, conduct, as well as successful completion of a written language arts project and a math project.

"Students who do not meet the standards still pass 8th grade but may not participate in the activities," she said.

Any and all community members, not just DSD families, are invited to purchase raffle tickets as well as tickets to the pancake breakfast itself.

Prizes available as part of this year's raffle include tickets to local sporting events, merchandise from local businesses, art, and more, Henschell said, noting the raffle baskets range in value from $35 to $600.

For more information, or to volunteer for the event, contact Henschell at andreahenschell@gmail.com.

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