Portage High School students celebrated the end of the school year with a battle for the champion title of the Class Olympics. The event, however, was actually about an even larger battle.
Teachers and students organized the inaugural Class Olympics as a fundraiser for ALS research. The student body raised just over $2,000 and decided to split the donation. Part of the funds raised were donated to ALS research in honor of principal Max Gill, and the rest was donated to his family.
Event sponsors and PHS faculty members Heidi Thibideau, Charity Kehoe, Leslie Kretz, and Sarah Wilkins helped the students raise the funds by organizing relay games and an Ice Bucket Penny Wars challenge. PHS teacher Deb Broom also organized a Snowie fundraiser in which students could purchase snow cones during the event. The company generously donated 20% of its proceeds to the fundraiser.
The students signed up to participate in the Class Olympics, which consisted of a series of relay games, including tug-of-war, egg race, softball throw, wheelbarrow race, and 100m dash. Freshmen, sophomore, and junior teams competed against each other and earned points for their class. The freshmen came out victorious, earning the highest number of points across all events!
Students who attended the Class Olympics event were encouraged to donate $1. Many students offered an additional donation, and some teachers sponsored their Tribe Time classes by paying the $1 donation for them.
Teachers also volunteered to participate in an Ice Bucket Penny Wars Challenge. The week prior to the event, students nominated 12 teachers to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge and voted for six finalists by placing money in jars set up during lunch hours. The six teachers who collected the most money had a bucket of ice water dumped on them at the end of the Class Olympics.
Thibideau said the event was a great way to raise money for a worthy cause while bringing together the student body.
“I was blown away that we managed to raise over $2,000 in just over a week and a half,” Thibideau said. “It’s a testament to the heart of PHS, which is always our kids.”