With two weeks before the start of classes, the Plano ISD held a crowded back-to-school fair in the Plano Center on Wednesday, July 29. Bob Wieland/Murphy Monitor

Thousands of Plano ISD students and their families swarmed the Plano Center for the district’s annual Back to School Fair.

Working in triple-digit heat, Plano police officers controlled access to the Wednesday, July 29, event — funneling cars to park on the grass. Overflow crowds parked across Jupiter Road at the Oak Point Recreation Center.

PISD students could pre-register for a free Trailsport backpack and there were a variety of other services available including Toni&Guy haircuts, Constant Eye Care vision screening and dental screening by Family Smiles.

Lovepacs and Minnie’s Food Pantry had food boxes and Passport Health/Staying Healthy Medical Services operated a vaccination clinic with immunizations for chicken pox, diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis (whooping cough), mumps/measles/rubella, polio, pneumonia, meningitis and hepatitis.

District resources on site provided school enrollment and registration, food and nutrition services support, language services, transportation information about bus routes and eligibility, and help with school details or programs like the Head Start Early Childhood Campus. There was also a PISD recruiting booth for jobseekers.

Titan Robotics club students set up displays in the courtyard so visitors could operate robots that threw balls and Toyota had an inflatable soccer goal for students to practice free kicks. 

Community vendors manned tables offering information about health, wellness, social services, sports and after-school programs and enrichment opportunities. 

There was a long line for Cane’s chicken fingers; Bed Start, a local ministry of sharing, asked, “Do you need a hand up?” and a playful squirrel puppet enticed young readers to sign up for a Plano Public Library card.

Plano ISD campuses serving Murphy students include Boggess, Hickey, Hunt and Miller Elementary Schools, Murphy Middle School, McMillen High School and Plano East Senior High School.

Most campuses have “Meet the Teacher” events on Monday, Aug. 10, prior PISD’s first day of school on Tuesday, Aug. 11.

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