October 21, 2025—Nickajack Elementary School's annual Fall Festival has become the highlight of the year for students, families, and teachers.

Throughout the year, the Nickajack Foundation, with the support of school families, makes donations towards essential school improvements for students.

With the help of the foundation and the Back the Jack campaign, they've raised over $175,000 in the to go towards creating the best possible environment for students. While teachers and staff help raise money, there's an added incentive that the school has rallied behind. 

Leading up to their Fall Festival, the PTA helped raise over $5,000 for their Kiss the Pig event. It's a separate fundraising goal for teachers to participate in as they compete for the right to kiss a pig in front of everyone at the end of the Fall Festival.

Principal Timeka Cline had the honor of taking center stage and kissing a pig in front of an excited auditorium filled with students as they chanted "Kiss the Pig!".

"They really wanted to see me kiss a pig, the students are excited, and that makes me excited," the Nickajack principal shared. 

The Fall Festival also had food trucks, inflatables, games, and a costume contest. 

It's become an event that Nickajack students and families look forward to every year, and in return, it helps strengthen the relationship between teachers and their students' families.

"This is the biggest event, it just shows how much family we have here at Nickajack," added Principal Cline.

The event was not the finale of the PTA's school year plan. The PTA hopes to raise more than $150,000 this year through spirit wear and yearbook sales, after-school clubs, sponsorships, a virtual auction, and its biggest fundraiser of the spring—the Fun Run, which typically brings in about $90,000 each March.