VIENNA — The Drive Thru Back to School Fair held at the Maries R-1 School campus last Wednesday evening was a great success as 180 pre-K through 8th grade students and their parents were given about 90 percent of the supplies they will need for the 2020—2021 school year.

Organizers included teachers Sara Campbell and Malinda Howard and Sara’s mom, Donna Haller. They solicited and collected donations in the Maries R-1 School District from businesses, individuals, and churches. Campbell said the community was very generous in their donations. The money was used to purchase supplies using supply lists provided by Maries R-1 teachers. “Each grade got what they needed,” she said.

There was a good crew of teachers and other helpers in the school cafeteria that day where they packed up all of the bags for the individual students.

Campbell said the drive thru went very well as the parents with their students in the vehicle, used the street beside the track to drive up to the front door of the high school. They cued up in their vehicle and they were met by friendly school staff who took the names of the students and within minutes, they had their supplies handed to them through the vehicle and they were on their way. There were a lot of smiles and greetings as students were happy to see their teachers and vice versa.

“It worked well,” Campbell said. “The parents liked it and it made it a lot easier. They pulled through, got the supplies, and on they went.”

She said it was easier and smoother than the previous way they did it with tables set up at the Koerber Knights Hall where people stood in line to receive supplies.

Campbell said the coronavirus pandemic “has opened our eyes to new ways of doing things.”

She’s a fourth and fifth grade math teacher at Maries R-1 and said she any the other teachers are looking forward to getting “back to the kids.” She said they are a family of teachers who will help each other and finds ways to deal with the new situation.