Ross St. School raises $800 for cancer society
Students take part in mini relay for American Cancer Society
BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

Valerie Nettles, part of the Parent Teacher Organization, congratulates students with a high five after completing a lap in a walk/run mini relay May 1 at Ross Street School No. 11. The students raised a total of $800 for the American Cancer Society.

WOODBRIDGE - While learning the steps to "Cotton-Eyed Joe," the students of Ross Street School No. 11 raised money for the American Cancer Society.

The students - first grade to fifth grade - participated in a mini relay on May 1, an abbreviated version of the national American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, which is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times.

"Betsy Fennessey, who is a former and retired teacher at Ross Street School, came to one of our district principal meetings," said Principal Sharon Strack. "She spoke about her involvement with the American Cancer Society. We have done other student involvement fundraisers such as Pennies for Patients benefiting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, muscular dystrophy, and various food pantries."

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Strack said this was a nice opportunity for the students to raise money for cancer and participate in activities starting in February leading up to the mini relay.

"So many of the children know someone who has cancer," she said. "It's such a worthy cause."

Richard Dosch, who teaches math and language arts at the school, organized the weekly activities where students learned about health and fitness in their physical education classes and the mini relay with other teachers.

"We had school spirit week where the children brought in coins," said Dosch. "I had made a little incentive for the kids to bring in coins: I told them I would dye my hair purple on the day of the mini relay."

In the end, Dosch had to dye his hair purple.

"The kids seemed to have fun and that's a good thing," he said. "Three or four kids also dyed their hair purple for the day."

The goal for the students at Ross Street School was to raise $400, but they doubled their goal and raised $800 for the American Cancer Society.

Dosch said the mini relay was an educational day for the students as well as fun. It was broken into two sessions. The first session was for grades one to three and the second session was for grades three to five.

"We had six stations that the kids participated in, which included walking the track to symbolize hope, playing basketball, going through an obstacle course, a dance station, and a rest and snack station where the students would answer questions about staying healthy and about what they learned about cancer," he said. "All the students received T-shirts."

Prior to the mini relay, Dosch and another teacher taught the students various dances during their recess period, including the cha-cha slide, the macarena, the electric slide and everybody's favorite, the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance.

The students showed off their skills at the dance station during the mini relay.

"I had a third-grader tell me he went to a birthday party and they did the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance," said Dosch. "He was happy because he learned how to do the dance at school already."

Amy Korner and Allison Wagner, who are both in fifth grade, said they had fun at the mini relay, especially learning the Cotton-Eyed Joe dance, as well as learning a lot about the American Cancer Society.

"There was a lot of information that I learned that I didn't know before," said Korner.

For more information about the American Cancer Society, visit www.cancer.org.