Up on the Rooftop

The annual Summit View Walk-a-thon was held on October 6th.  Students and teachers walked the short distance from our school to Waukesha North High School, where we took several laps around the track before we were treated to a performance from the Waukesha North marching band.  For weeks prior to the walk, the students were busy collecting pledges, aiming to raise the money needed to put their teachers and principals on the roof of the school.  Any teacher of a class that raised a minimum of $750 would need to spend a night on the roof.  If the school as a whole met a $16,000 fundraising goal, our principal, Jeff Peterson, would also need to camp out on the rooftop for a night. 

As it played out, nine teachers (myself included) and our principal had to sleep on the roof of the school!  In fact, the students and families met and exceeded our fundraising goals.  The students raised a little over $18,000 for our school!  My class alone brought in over $1400 to contribute toward the Walk-a-thon total.  Not only did my students get to send me to the roof, but they also earned a pizza party as the class who had raised the most money per student!

The ten of us who were sent to the roof decided to get the night over and done with before the temperatures took a nose dive and the snow began to fall.  We selected this past Thursday as the night for our sleepover.  We packed our bags, gathered our camping equipment, and prepared for a cold, uncomfortable night. 

The night was certainly as cold and uncomfortable as we all expected it would be - Most of us didn't sleep a wink.  However, it was an event that none of us will ever forget and one that our students and families will most likely never forget either.  From the fire engine ladder ride that took us to the roof to the many nighttime visits from students and families to bring us food and other treats, the night was filled with memorable moments. 

The next day was just as memorable for different reasons.  We were all so tired from our night on the roof that we really couldn't function well as teachers.  There were a lot of movies played in our classrooms on Friday! 

Although Friday was brutal and I still haven't caught up on the sleep that I missed on Thursday night, I would do it all over again!  It was worth all of the discomfort, inconvenience, and worry to reward our students and families for their efforts.  That said, I wouldn't want to spend another night on the roof anytime soon!

The Waukesha Freeman featured this story about our sleepover in Friday's newspaper.  We were also shown on the Channel 58 news broadcast on Friday evening.

You can watch video and see pictures from our night at http://www.upontheroof.weebly.com/. The password is summitview.