News & Press Releases
Hoops for Heart/Jump Rope for Heart Ends on a Very Happy Note!
Thanks to the efforts of Ms. Smith-McNeely – event planner extraordinaire (and an excellent PE teacher, too) – the all-school celebratory conclusion of this year’s Hoops for Heart/Jump Rope for Heart was something very special.
The hour-long convocation on Friday, May 1, started with the “Hot Shot Blitz”: a basketball shooting contest involving 5th-8th graders. The contestants shot hoops from designated spots worth certain point values on the basketball court. Our “hot shots” had to shoot fast and true in this exciting timed event. The eventual winners with the hot hands were 8th grader Aaron Hawthorne and 5th grader Mimi Bridge.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of this American Heart Association (AHA) fundraiser, a Candle Ceremony was held. Our very own Ms. Brown, the ICS kitchen manager, baked a cake for the occasion. But not necessarily for consumption! Students who raised $25 or more got to light a candle on the cake. The kids blew out the candles. Then Austin Hasson, top Hoops for Heart student fundraiser, had the distinct honor of depositing the cake onto poor Mr. Ballard’s head. Our high school behavior coach appreciated Austin’s gesture, but would have preferred a slice to eat rather than to wear the whole thing!
Perhaps the most crowd-pleasing part of this high-energy convocation involved the public “Pie-A-Teacher” event. The targets, by popular demand owing to a “Change Wars” contest involving jars featuring the names of all staff as receptacles of donated coins, were Mr. Walden (Spanish), Mrs. Smith (5th grade), and Mrs. Harmeyer (former behavior coach).
Of note, Rowdie, the Indianapolis Indians baseball team mascot, joined the festivities, delighting all with his outrageous antics.
Ms. Smith-McNeely wanted to be sure to thank her colleague, fellow Physical Education teacher Justin Stenger, for his technical support while working behind the scenes during the convocation. Also, special thanks to Noelle Szydlyk, mother of 1st grader Jacob Szydlyk, who arranged the guest appearance of Rowdie. And to Ms. Woo, the ICS technology teacher, for bringing in $850 as the top adult fundraiser.
The event’s Royal Court – featuring the 5th – 8th grade students who collected the most donations – included the following individuals:
- "King" Austin Hasson (grade 8): $238
- "Queen" Erica Godsey (grade 8): $75
- "Prince" Nate Finn (grade 8): $100
- "Princess" Kaitlyn Evans (grade 6): $70
The bottom line is, ICS students managed to raise more than $2,500 during the Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for Heart fundraiser. Since beginning our involvement in this AHA annual fundraiser in 2004, Irvington’s grand total is nearly $15,500. The AHA’s Meg Morton noted that the ICS is one of the top fundraising schools in Marion County for this year’s event. No surprise to us!