Why these students got to chuck water balloons at their principal

A deal’s a deal!

During their Jump Rope for Heart festivities this year, students at Isabel Fletcher Public School had some extra incentive to break their fundraising goal for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

The school’s principal Mr. Kerr agreed to let the kids throw water balloons at him if the students raised $2,000 in four weeks.

So, naturally, the school eclipsed that mark in less than half that time.

“If that doesn’t motivate students, I don’t know what will,” said vice-principal Christine Velcich.

As of Saturday afternoon, students and staff at Isabel Fletcher ended up raising $2,570 for the foundation.

Their efforts were celebrated outside on Friday afternoon with a sundae station, areas to jump rope, and of course: 500 water balloons tossed Mr. Kerr’s way.

Additionally, the school held an incredibly successful food drive in support of Harvest Algoma.

More than 2,000 pounds worth of non-perishable food items were donated to the non-profit thanks to several weeks of friendly competition between classes around the school.

"We were told that was more than all of the other schools combined," Velcich noted.

Ms. Olar’s Grade 2/3 class collected the most items and earned a trip to tour Harvest Algoma where they will get to make, bake, and eat their own pizzas.

The full release from Isabel Fletcher vice-principal Christine Velcich is below:

This year’s Jump Rope for Heart was a huge success. We kicked off our event with an assembly to educate the students about the Heart and Stroke Foundation and “Why we Jump!”

The warm up…

Our amazing teachers provide daily learning opportunities to teach students about building healthy habits for a healthy life and the importance of giving.

Our first event was aimed at addressing a community need and teaching the students about the importance of giving. We held a food drive to support Harvest Algoma, the heart of our community’s fight against hunger. Our amazing Mrs. O’Kelly, grade one teacher, inspired and motivated our school community. The students, parents, and staff actually competed to see who would bring in the most non-perishable food items. Each day, the winning class would get prizes and acknowledgments on the morning announcements!

At the end of the food drive, Harvest Algoma came for the big unveiling assembly where they were presented with over 2,000 pounds of non-perishable food items. We were told that was more than all of the other schools combined. Ms. Olar’s grade 2/3 class collected the highest number of items and won a trip to tour Harvest Algoma where they’ll get to make, bake, and eat their own pizzas!

Then came Jump Rope for Heart!

Again, Mrs. O’Kelly organized a rocking event, saying, “These kids really do know the importance of giving.” We challenged our students to raise $2,000 over four weeks. We surpassed that goal within the first two weeks. In addition to Jump Rope’s generous prizes according to specified donation amounts, Mrs. O’Kelly awarded students daily with exciting prizes to keep the momentum and excitement brewing.

The smile on the face of Damien, an SK student in Mrs. Marshall’s class, would have melted your heart when he was commended for his ever-increasing donations. Our students were pumped and excited, but what amazed me was the teamwork and togetherness this event brought to our school community. Everyone was excited to come to school. Parents, teachers, and students were talking about the daily amounts posted, and the anticipation of event day on June 14. It had everyone in high spirits.

Our event day included six teams that included students of all ages from JK to Grade 6. They rotated through skipping/jumping activity stations that kept them active and moving all afternoon. The Grade 6 students showed amazing leadership and the little ones loved being with the big kids.

Mrs. O’Kelly told the students that if they met the $2,000 goal, they would get to throw water balloons at the principal. If that doesn’t motivate 205 students, I don’t know what will.

After two weeks, we surpassed our goal, and Mr. Kerr knew it was inevitable. He dug out his football helmet (and other padding) and sat and smiled (maybe some grimacing), while 205 students and 30 staff members took their aim and fired 500 water-filled balloons of every colour right at him. You can imagine the fun! What a great sport you are, Mr. Kerr!

Our small community school, students, parents, guardians, and staff came together to help raise awareness about the importance of living healthy active lives and to raise money to help the fight against heart disease.

What we all gained was so much more – an increased sense of community and trust, the building of strong relationships, and knowing in our hearts that together we made a positive impact on the world.