On a rainy Friday afternoon, students lined the bleachers to watch Midlo teachers and administrators brave the cold by jumping into pools of ice water. Although they made a splash, the impact the event made was much bigger. The polar plunge was held to raise money for the special olympics. The event was organized by the Champions Together club and it raised over $6,000. 

    Mrs. Solo, sponsor of the Champions Together club, along with Ms. Fields, Ms. Jefferson, and Mrs. Harbula brought the polar plunge to Poates Stadium.

    “We’ve done the polar plunge in the past couple years. We’ve done Virginia Beach and Pocahontas park. We didn’t have much involvement from the students because it was so far away. I wanted to bring it back to Midlo to get more students involved and to spread awareness for inclusiveness,” said Mrs. Solo.

    The Champions Together club, a club that includes special education students and regular education students, had been planning the fundraiser since before winter break.  Teachers volunteered to be dunked while the students voted on which teachers they wanted to see.

    “I voted for Mr. Layton because he’s my math teacher and he’s just a really entertaining teacher, so I thought it would be fun to see his reaction to being dunked,” said Grace Newton (9). Many students attended the polar plunge despite the cold overcast weather. The tickets purchased by students helped to reach the goal of $5,000 in donations.

    Mr. Layton, a geometry and capstone teacher, was one of the many participants in the polar plunge.

    “It was pretty nerve-wracking because I didn’t know what to expect or how cold it would be,” said Mr. Layton “ If you can make someone smile or have a good day then it’s worth doing.”