From left: Kindergarten students Kristopher Tripp and Desmond Maclaine and first grader Scarlet Babb gang up on an immobilized Whitefield Elementary School Principal Mark Deblois at the school assembly Friday, March 31. Students were told they could duct tape Deblois to a wall if they could bring in at least 300 items for the Whitefield Lions Club pet food drive, a threshold that proved no problem for the motivated student body. (Sherwood Olin photo)
Two Whitefield educators were immobilized by duct tape at a school assembly Friday, March 31 after Whitefield Elementary School students smashed a donation challenge put before them.
The duct tape challenge was organized under the auspices of the National Junior Honor Society and helped compile 349 items of pet food for distribution through local food pantries by the Whitefield Lions Club.
The initial challenge was to raise 100 items for the food drive. If the students met that minimum they would be allowed to tape school nurse Kendra Anderson to a wall. When that threshold proved no obstacle organizers raised the stakes, offering the opportunity to duct tape Principal Mark Deblois to a wall if the students contributed more than 300 items.
Paired off in “buddy classes,” grades eight and three, seven and two, six and one, four and kindergarten/pre-K, students were allowed to place as many strips of tape as their two classes together contributed.
A festive atmosphere prevailed during the event. On one side of the stage area in the school gymnasium, students cheerfully applied tape to Anderson while on the other side of the stage area, they gleefully mummified Deblois.
Whitefield Lions Club President Barry Tibbetts offered a few brief remarks before the taping, commending the students for their efforts and thanking them for their support.
