Oxford Elementary School Principal Jeff Brown (left) and Daniel Axford Elementary Principal Chad Boyd, flanked by their students, camped out on Oct. 25 at Daniel Axford Elementary as a reward to the students for raising more than $36,000 during the annual Fund Run this fall, $10,000 more than their goal. Photo by Jim Newell

By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
OXFORD – Students at Daniel Axford and Oxford elementary schools got a special treat on Oct. 25 for all their hard work during the Fund Run earlier this fall.
They had a cider and donuts party at Daniel Axford – and got to see their principals in their pajama pants (and rain gear) as Oxford Elementary School Principal Jeff Brown and Daniel Axford Elementary Principal Chad Boyd prepared to camp out for the night at Daniel Axford school.
“It’s a fun way to celebrate our kids and PTO raising more than $36,000, which is about $10,000 more than we’ve ever raised before,” Brown said. “So, we had to come up with a fun way to celebrate. I will give Mr. Boyd full credit; he is the camper and hunter. I’m more of a golfer, but I’m here to give it a shot and celebrate what our kids and families accomplished.”
Boyd and Brown set up tents and Boyd built a fire on a rainy evening, all as a reward to the students for their fundraising efforts.
All funds go toward helping the Daniel Axford/Oxford Elementary PTO throughout the year.
“It’s nice that we’re coming back from a tough economy and now we’re at a point where we raise $36,000 so that we can do fun stuff with kids throughout the year, and probably years to come too,” Brown said.
The funds will go toward supporting students and events the schools may have throughout the year.
“It does support some of our teachers as well, for buying extra fun supplies for kids, but every dollar goes right back to kid things that we do,” Brown said.
Some activities include assemblies and hosting guests to the schools. In November, a pro BMX rider who was on “America’s Got Talent” will visit Oxford Elementary School to speak with the students and demonstrate his abilities.
“Assemblies are expensive,” Brown said. “That’s just one small example of some of the things we can do that are the extras that our families are providing.”
Daniel Axford is a Kindergarten through second grade and then those students move on to Oxford Elementary School for third through fifth grades. The PTO for schools is combined, with efforts supporting activities at both schools, often combined events.