A Silly String Extravaganza!

By Jillian Daley

Kindergartner Aleyah Mendoza landed a direct Silly String hit on her teacher Jamie Bohall, with a little help from Bohall, who primed the aerosol pump.

“It was fun Spraying Miss Bohall ‘cause it was free, and it was so much fun!” Aleyah says, quietly, but with a sparkle in her eyes.

If Aleyah enjoyed that, she’s bound to have a great time this Friday — when Primary School Principal Allison Hunt will be the target of a Silly String strafe! The rampant Silly String-ing of local educators is part of the Primary and Intermediate schools’ fundraiser for the American Heart Association, a nonprofit that funds cardiovascular research. Called the Kids Heart Challenge, the effort kicked off on Jan. 8 and will come to a close on January 28.

Primary School students, who teamed up with the Preschool kiddos for their event, hit their fundraising goal of $5,000, and the Silly String-ing of authority figures incentivized the effort, culminating in the ultimate goal of coating the Principal in brightly colored plastic strands.

But Principal Hunt need not worry. Bohall says it doesn’t hurt to get sprayed. In fact, she came dangerously close to calling it fun.

“It’s a pretty good time,” Bohall says. “It’s always exciting for the kids to do something different, something outside their element. It’s always good for kids to see their teachers as humans.”

A dual effort of both schools’ P.E. teachers, there has been a host of activities that also include timeless cardio games, as classic as freeze tag and jump rope. The Intermediate School’s goal is $3,000, but what they’re up to in terms of incentives is something of a secret so far, with tantalizing rumors about future events involving “silly” costumes.

“If we hit our goal, I will be dressing up ‘silly’ for one of our classes, likely at the beginning of February,”  Intermediate School P.E. Teacher Matthew Prom says. “Also, the top classes in each grade will get to Silly String their teachers around this same time.”

Helping Others

Underlying all this joyous activity is a serious message, that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. However, research supported through organizations including the American Heart Association has helped so many people who struggle with heart issues every day through advancements in research. That includes North Marion second-grader Trinity Kullowatz’s grandma, whose aneurysm was patched with the lining of a cow’s heart.

“My grandma has a cow heart in her, so I’m trying to help her,” Trinity explains. “I thought that was weird but cool too.  … You should raise some money for other people’s hearts to help them.”

Trinity’s mom, Tiffany Kullowatz, says cardiac health is definitely a cause that’s close to her family’s hearts, so to speak. But there’s also so much for Trinity to learn through participating.

“I am trying to teach her that it is important to stay healthy, and we can do that by moving our bodies every day,” says Trinity’s mom, Primary School Learning Specialist Tiffany Kullowatz. “Also, by donating our time and money to important organizations like the American Heart Association, we are helping people with special hearts.”

Keeping Tickers Strong with the Kids Heart Challenge

Heart issues can often be prevented through participating in healthy activities, including regularly doing cardio and eating healthily. However, Prom, the P.E. teacher at the Intermediate School, says he loves the Kids Heart Challenge because it focuses on not only physical fitness, but social and emotional health, incorporating leadership, teamwork, and kindness. Managing stress and mental health can also keep hearts beating steadily.

“For example, today [Jan. 18)], we played kindness tag, a form of freeze tag, but to unfreeze someone you must compliment them,” Prom says. “We also talked about ways to be kind to others and have talked about what qualities a leader should have.”

His counterpart at the Primary School, P.E. Teacher Sadie Gold, says that the structure of the Kids Heart Challenge fundraiser not only focuses on both mind and body, but also appeals to kids. The American Heart Association supports schools that run the event with materials that feature fun activities, including highlighting “Heart Hero” characters who inspire students to make healthy choices.

“The Kids Heart Challenge focuses on whole body wellness, helping students improve their own health and better their character while raising life-saving donations for the American Heart Association to help kids facing heart-health issues,” Gold explains.

If you wish to donate, please visit the Primary School’s Kids Heart Challenge page: http://www2.heart.org/goto/northmarionprimary or the Intermediate School’s page: http://www2.heart.org/goto/northmarionintermediate. 

We plan to have an update on what both schools have raised by next week!

To share stories about the North Marion community, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.