Dozens of items were up for bid Friday night, March 30, as the Rochester Memorial School PTO held its Fourth Annual Live Auction in the RMS cafeteria. The family-oriented event attracted scores of students and their parents, eager to win the opportunity to be Art Teacher for a Day or to take home an autographed Patriots football.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the construction of a new playground at RMS. Last year, the auction raised money to construct the existing playground for the younger students. And from start to finish, the kids are the focus of the auction.
From the craft table to the pizza and juice boxes at the concession area, the RMS PTO is an organization that consistently recognizes the importance of students in the Rochester community and that works to help the young people realize how much they mean to the town.
“I hope the kids get a sense of belonging and community,” said PTO member and auction organizer Heather Bacchiocchi.
Her son did not start talking until he was about three, but worked with the teachers and speech pathologists at RMS, who have helped him develop his conversational abilities.
“I just think back on all the time they have spent with him, teaching him, that this is the least I can do to support his school,” she said.
Planning the auction is no small task. The PTO sent out hundreds of letters to local businesses and large organizations asking for donations. This year, attendees had the chance to win a ukulele with lessons on DVD, an autographed Red Sox baseball, rounds of golf, dance lessons, cartooning lessons, and packs of tickets for family events and activities all over Massachusetts.
Before the doors opened, PTO Treasurer Tina Rood was helping to tie up the final loose ends and get everything organized.
“It’s a lot of work but it’s a lot of fun, too. Today was a bit crazy because they had play rehearsal on the stage until five o’clock, so we didn’t have a lot of time to set up. But we have great volunteers who have done this before so it’s gone really well,” she said.
Jenn Hunter, a PTO member with three children, believes that parents should be heavily involved with their kids’ schools.
“I do it because it’s my job as a parent to aid in my kids’ education. I grew up in Rochester, I attended RMS. I feel invested in the school community,” she said.
For their fourth year in a row, Karen Winsper and her daughter, Julia, a sixth grader at RMS, attended the auction, this time with two items in their sights: front row seats to the RMS Sixth Grade Graduation and Art Teacher For a Day.
“[Art teacher] Mrs. Smith always makes art really fun. I really like painting and pottery,” Julia said. “There is usually a great variety of things to bid on. It’s always fun to see what the teachers offer,” Karen said. Last year, Principal for a Day sold for $750. “The school has been good for the kids.”
But knowing that their participation in the auction will benefit upcoming students is most important to Julia.
“I’ll be glad when they have their new playground because I know they’ll have fun using it,” she said.
Among some of the items offered by teachers were an underground cave adventure led by Mr. Kinsky, a Fun in the Sun Day featuring swimming and crafts by Mrs. Lucas, and an original watercolor painted by RMS Principal, Jay Ryan. He is retiring at the end of this academic year. Before becoming an administrator, Ryan was an art teacher and recently began painting more often in his spare time.
“I had put down the brush for quite a few years, but in the last three or four, I’ve gotten back into it,” he said.
He plans on focusing on his painting as he heads into retirement and felt offering this project to the auction was fitting.
“It’s for the kids, but I thought it would add a nice memory for whoever bought it because the painting would be of their own home,” he said. “I’m going to miss the kids most. They have such a great way of looking at each day that goes by.”
The PTO had raised about $30,000 toward the new playground thanks to last year’s auction and walk-a-thon. They hoped the proceeds from Friday night would put that total closer to $50,000.
By Eric Tripoli
