Principal agrees to become a ‘human sundae’ after school reached Terry Fox Run goal
By Sharon Weatherall
Students at Christian Island Elementary School (CIES) doubled their goal for the Terry Fox event on Thursday raising over $1000.
Part of the incentive came from students wanting to make their school principal Angela Johnson into a “human sundae”. She bravely took up the Terry Fox Challenge agreeing to be taped to a pole and decorated with whip cream if the student body met its goal.
“It was all good fun for a wonderful cause and we doubled our original target of $500,” said Johnson.
“I think for a small school that’s really good. Tacking our Terry Fox event onto Parent’s Night at the school really helped. There seemed to be more effort this year than in other years.”
The day was a busy one for students and staff of CIES starting out with an assembly in the gym to listen to guest speaker Sharon Weatherall. She spoke to the kids about her ongoing battle with cancer and how their fundraising efforts would help support people who are sick. Weatherall says through research the creation of medicines like chemotherapy and radiation are “fighting cancer and saving lives”.
On hand as well was cancer survivor and school custodian Anthony Peters, who spoke at the Terry Fox event last year. An inspiration, he was diagnosed in
1999 with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and underwent three weeks of radiation and six months of chemo to be cured.
“Early detection is the key. I felt like I had a cold at first and then I developed other symptoms which led to diagnosis. After my treatments I was lucky and went back to work. I think being so young helped me fight,” said Peters.
“Afterwards for several years I had to go for check-ups every six months and then annually but now I am okay. The Terry Fox campaign is very important for creating awareness and raising funds.”
Organizer and school librarian Trudy King, was very happy to see the goal surpassed this year and thankful for the beautiful day for the event. Having experienced much cancer in her family and lost a brother to it most recently, she is very pleased to see her school step up to the plate and get so excited about Terry Fox.
At around 9:45 a.m. the school assembled outside to do some warm up exercises and then embark on and a route along island roads and trails which takes about two hours to complete. Afterwards participants gathered for a BBQ lunch and snacks. Terry Fox videos were available in the school for everyone to watch. Later that evening Parent’s Night and Open House drew many families and members of the community.