If you walked into Lakeville Elementary on April 1 you might have noticed that Principal Kristy Marshall-Gibson and PE Teacher Brian Luba, looked a little ‘quacked out.? Did they lose a bet? You could say that.
Every year Lakeville students participate in Jump Rope for Heart, which promotes healthy lifestyle through exercise and raises money for the American Heart Association.
A dollar amount goal is set every year and the agreement was if the students met or exceeded the set goal amount, Gibson and Luba would dress up like ducks for the day.
‘Last year the American Heart Association starting awarding (rubber) ducks as a thank you gift and as an incentive to try and get kids to raise money for the American Heart Association, Luba explained. ‘It’s like a big thing to see who can get all the ducks and stuff, there is like six different ducks that they can earn. We chose (to dress like) ducks to kind of go along with the American Heart Association.?
The goal set was $5,000, the amount raised was $7,000. Gibson called it ‘awesome.?
‘Just to ask this school to raise that much money and for them to go above and beyond what we asked them to raise, that’s huge,? Luba added. ‘It really shows the kids here and the families here are very caring and want to help out other people in need.?
He said a lot of his students tell him about their grandfathers who have heart issues, so they understand the importance.
‘That’s the biggest thing we talk about,? he said. ‘It’s not for the prize, it’s for helping people with special hearts and they understand that.?