Friday morning, Austin Heitland and Griffin Ormsby woke up to a change of scenery. The pair spent the night on the roof of Tipton Elementary School. The sun set less than 2 hours later, promising to be a chilly night.
A few weeks ago Heitland, the kindergarten through 6th grade Physical Education teacher approached Ormsby who is part of the SEBH Department, with an idea for the upcoming event. Heitland pulled inspiration from Bennett Schools where Principal Jeremiah Costello and PE teacher Casey Strub completed a similar feat last school year, and proposed the idea to Ormsby. Surprisingly, he agreed, and they began preparations for the Kids Heart Challenge.
The American Heart Association has been running the Kids Heart Challenge for over 40 years. Many parents probably remember participating themselves when they were students. The challenge aims to promote physical activity and educate students on heart health as well as healthy emotional lifestyles. Over the course of the Kids Heart Challenge, the students work on jump roping, talk about safe and healthy lifestyle choices, and get to have a jump day with their whole grade! Along with that comes the fundraiser, and while the prizes and rewards involved are the most flashy, the valuable knowledge gained is unmatched. Heitland commented “It makes it so much more fun to see kids excited about making a difference. I’m happy to participate for that outcome.”
So after a successful 3 week challenge, it was time for the pair to pack their bags. The timing proved to be a challenge, but Thursday night’s forecast showed promise of staying dry and above freezing. They came prepared with sleeping bags, a tent and even a TV. They set up their campsite and waved goodbye as each student left the school on Thursday. Pizza delivery followed by popcorn and candy deliveries from students kept them fueled and fed for their adventure ahead.
To pass the time they were able to watch the Thursday night football game, play video games and had some snacks before they tucked each other in for the night. While they may have claimed to be freezing, the low temperature only got to 33.8 degrees fahrenheit at 4:04AM, so they would be lying. They were lucky to have no rain though it was frosty when they woke up. And while everyone would have assumed these weather conditions would be the largest barrier to their good night’s rest, the real culprit were some nearby cows who had just been weaned and made quite a ruckus.
Friday morning as students were arriving outside the building they saw a tent but no teachers. As they started to speculate whether they were still sleeping or if they had gotten too cold and went home for the night, the men emerged and caused an uproar on the playground. Later, a grand entrance was made when the students were gathered at Tiger Time before the two were able to sneak away to get ready for the school day.
A good cause, some very dedicated teachers, and wonderful school and community support is going to make this a memory that stands out in Tipton for quite some time.