Four hundred and fifty boxes of breakfast cereal were lined up like dominos through the halls of Kramer Elementary School – past classroom doors, down the stairs, around corners and into the library. A signal was given, the first box was tipped and the chain reaction of tumbling cereal raced past  cheering students who lined the hallways. 

The Nov. 5 domino cereal game was all for a good cause, said Principal Jason Merz. Since Oct. 27, students had been conducting a cereal drive for Talawanda Oxford Pantry & Social Services (TOPSS), whose goal is to alleviate food insecurity and provide nutritional information for residents within Talawanda School District.

The drive became a contest among grade levels. “The winning grade level, the fourth graders, are getting a cereal party,” said Merz.

According to Merz, the effort was organized by the fourth and fifth grade teachers. “We thought we were going to do (the domino line) in the gym,” Merz said, “but fourth grade teachers said to do it upstairs, let it go down the steps, and then to the library. It turned out great.” 

The teachers assembled and knocked over the domino line twice, with one session for third through fifth grade and the second session for preschool, kindergarten, first grade and second grade. “Usually, we collect other boxed and canned goods to donate but we were trying something different this year,” said Merz. “It was our first cereal drive.”