There is an old adage about making bets that says, "Betting is good for the soul; if you win you are happier, and if you lose you are wiser."
So it is that the teachers of Carlyle Elementary School are a little wiser following a casual bet made with the students of the school over the amount of money the students could raise in pledges at the annual Terry Fox Run.
"We had received a letter from the Terry Fox Run people asking us to see what we could do about increasing the amount and number of pledges the students could raise," said CES principal Shelley Sargent. "We decided to offer challenges, and if the students rose more than the challenge amount, the students would win the challenge."
Last year, the students of CES had raised $5,000 in pledges for the Terry Fox Run.
Using that number as a base, the teachers offered a number of incentives for money raising, starting with a collected total of $5,000.
"If they matched last year's amount, the teachers said they would do a chicken dance in front of an assembly of the students," said teacher Pam Kresowaty. "From there the challenges went up by $1,000 to a total of $8,000."
At $6,000, the principal Shelley Sargent would have a water balloon toss with vice-principal Kelly Currie.
At the $7,000 mark, the five students who raised the most money would each be allowed to throw a pie at the teacher of their choice.
Finally, if the students raised $8,000 or more, the teachers would spend a night sleeping outside in tents in front of the school.
In response to these challenges, the students responded with admirable dedication, and in the end brought in the completely unexpected amount of more than $10,000.
"We are really quite proud of our students and how well they did," Sargent said. "As a result of their performance, they've managed to get every single one of the challenge promises the staff made."
With the grand total of money raised standing at $10,357.39 the first step on the list of challenges was the outdoor adventure for the teachers.
Therefore the teachers pitched their tents in front of CES for a night out in the cold.
Sadly for the teachers, it ended up being a frost night, and pranks between the teachers throughout the evening left many looking a little weary the following morning.
A total of 13 staff members took up the outdoor challenge including Fred Perry, Evan Bloomfield, Kelly Currie, Jeff Laforet, Shelley Sargent, Cheryl MacDonald, Rayanne Wood, Kim Killoh, Adah Rasmussen, Melissa Roy-Brown Lise Bechard-Fuller, Natalie Bloomfield, Pam Kresowaty, and Justine Stephanson.
The top pledge earners at the school were in order Katie Wilson with $1,021, Erica Wilson, Trinity Slykhuis, Taylor Sargent, and Jayda Kyle.
