North Prepares for First Polar Bear Gala on April 2
North High is preparing for their first Polar Bear Gala on April 2 to raise funds to support a variety of student activities.
Earlier this winter a nice lady from a neighboring suburb was at North High School lending time and resources to a project there. When she got back to her car in the parking lot to go home she discovered that she had a flat tire. Before she could curse her bad luck or send out an SOS for assistance three North students happened by. Seeing her plight they changed the tire for her before walking on their way. Lucky for her, these polar bears don’t hibernate.
“We hear stories similar to that all the time,” said North Activities Director OJ Sinclair. “People from other school districts always remark about how polite and cheerful the North kids are.”
They are also in need. So Sinclair and others have organized the first-ever Polar Bear Gala to solicit the community’s help in fixing some of the flat tires on a Polar Bear bandwagon that’s rolling faster than would have seemed possible a few years ago.
Examples of the reinvigoration that’s going on at North include :
- The marching band has doubled in size since 2013 but hasn’t had new uniforms since 1992.
- Last fall’s musical, Peter Pan, drew the highest attendance of any musical production in school history.
- The ROTC rifle squad just pulled off a “three-peat” at the regional championships in Ohio last weekend.
- Overall activities participation is up 35% from last year.
- The football team won its first game in more than two years last fall and the girls’ basketball team scored its first victory in longer than that this season.
The event is scheduled for April 2 at the Downtown Holiday Inn. Tickets are $40 and donations are also being sought for silent and live auctions that will be part of it along with a showcase of student talent. This isn’t an exclusive, closed-community, invitation-only sort of soiree. You don’t have to bleed pink and green to appreciate the renaissance at North and lend support to it.
The event website includes a link to the Wishing Tree that will be at the event for donors who want to earmark gifts for specific programs. They’re not asking for the moon, folks. The orchestra needs some string instruments. The golf teams need new bags. The robotics, that’s right, robotics, team needs a special laptop. The track team needs some starting blocks. In a sense, that’s what all of the programs are asking for, new starting blocks to help them go even faster.
Sinclair says the deadline for auction donations is fast approaching. Items must be pledged by March 1. Event tickets need to be purchased by mid-March so please, save the date of April 2 if it’s not already taken on your calendar. If it is, buy a ticket for someone else and/or donate to one of the auctions.
Wells Fargo, Casey’s and The Rasmussen Group are three prominent community sponsors. If your business or organization would like to join them in support of a climate change that’s good for our local Polar Bears, or to purchase tickets and/or donate to the auction[s], call 242-7218 or visit the event’s website here.
