Skip to main content

Draper Journal

Summit Academy event brings together community, donations for school improvement

Aug 18, 2021 01:36PM ● By Julie Slama

Principal Lindy Hatch was duct taped to a wall as an incentive to students to raise funds for the school. (Photo courtesy of Summit Academy)

By Julie Slama | [email protected]

This fall, there may be more security cameras at Summit Academy, thanks to the Warriorpalooza event held this past spring.

Bringing together the beloved Jogapalooza, which was the school’s annual fundraiser for 11 years, with its new fundraising event, in its second year, Warriorpalooza, was a fun success, said Summit Principal Lindy Hatch.

“The students ran around our track, but had to go through obstacles along the way,” she said. “The students loved it.”

Fifth-grade teacher Victoria Scott said that many students opted to do the course, which included a tire run, army crawl, weaving in and out of cones, hopscotch, basketball shooting, a limbo and other activities, several times during their 45 minutes on the field. At the end of the course, students were sprayed with water.

“It was kind of to see how many times they could do it in a certain amount of time,” she said, adding that afterward, the students had a dance party on the school field.

The event raised about $17,000 in contributions, which will not only help with the increased security, but also update the baseball field and add tables and benches by the junior high field, Hatch said.

Even though the amount was half of their goal, students still benefitted from half the event’s incentives, such as Assistant Principal Paul Lundberg promising to shave his hair and beard.

“We only reached halfway to our goal, so he shaved half his head and half of his beard,” Hatch said.

She took part in the incentives to raise funds as well. The names of all students that brought in $100 or more were added to a drawing to tape Hatch to the school wall. Eight students’ names—four from kindergarten through fourth and four from fifth through eighth grades—were drawn to help secure their principal.

“I was taped to the wall in the junior high atrium for all three lunches—and hour and a half—and outside the elementary building during loading,” she said.

Also new this year was water derbies rather than the traditional dunk tank. One part of the derby allowed students to throw balls to soak their teachers and administrators.

“It was much better than the dunk tank,” said Hatch, who taught at the school prior to being named principal this school year.

Another part of the water derby, Scott said, allowed two people to compete against each other to fill up the other person’s huge bucket as fast as they could. As soon as it was filled, it would tip over onto the competitor.

“The goal was to get more water filled in the other person’s bucket before they got you,” she said.

Last year, a fundraising event did not happen as school went into a soft closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous years, funds have been used for technology upgrades to playground equipment.

Both previously and this year, the event included a dinner. With Jogapalooza, families purchased and ate a spaghetti dinner together the night before the fundraiser. This year, the Cinco de Mayo dinner was held a few weeks prior to Warriorpalooza, and families could pick up taco kits at the school to enjoy them at home together, Scott said.

Hatch said she appreciated the bonding that came about from the event.

“Like always, it was such a fun day,” she said. “It's a wonderful way to bring our community together.”