Teacher James Stevens gets covered in silly string.
Two students selected School Resource Officer Paige McBee for a turn with silly string.
All the students at two Ridgefield schools got together last week to silly string their teachers.
Students at Sunset Ridge Intermediate School and View Ridge Middle School participated in Penny Wars, a fundraiser that pits grade against grade and school against school. Top donors to the projects got to select a teacher to cover with two full cans of silly string.
Students in both schools were excited to see their favorite teachers doused with string as the entire View Ridge gymnasium was packed wall to wall with students. Fifth- and sixth-graders sat on the gym floor while seventh- and eighth-graders filled the bleachers. All were sitting in anticipation to find out who won the fundraiser and which teacher was getting sprayed.
According to a news release, The Ridge, a parent organization for both schools, created Penny Wars as a fun way to raise money for the schools. In the fundraiser, each grade tries to raise the most money in pennies. However, grades can sabotage each other by adding silver coins to their total, which takes away an equal number in pennies. This year, the students over both schools raised a total of $673.61 to provide resources for students, families and staff at both schools.
The seventh-grade class from View Ridge won this year, meaning that Principal Tony Smith got to drench Sunset Ridge principal Todd Graves from head to toe in string as the whole gym “erupted” in laughter and applause. After the principals had their turn, the students who donated $25 or more were up to cover a teacher of their choice in string. View Ridge teachers David Jacobson and Jerry DeShazer, Sunset Ridge teachers Rachelle Radzi and James Stevens and School Resource Officer Paige McBee all took turns getting covered in silly string, much to the delight of the audience. They were all good sports, smiling as they picked the silly string off their clothes and hair.
The fun wasn’t over after that, as a preview of the next Ridge fundraiser, the Color Run, was up next. Associated Student Body and Leadership class students staged a pretend run to show how the real color run would work. Students ran around the perimeter of the gym, then came back to the center of the gym, where other students showered them in brightly colored powder and even more silly string. One student even dressed as a T-Rex and jogged through the colored clouds.
