Lewis Principal 'Walks the Plank'

From Tiffany Sperry, Lewis PTA member serving as yearbook adviser, publicity representative and historian:

Principal Kristin Tonelli made an agreement with her students: If they raised $20,000 in their pirate-themed , she’d “walk the plank,” or slide down a water slide at the neighboring .

When students surpassed that goal, Tonelli upheld her end of the bargain.

She and Assistant Principal Delilah Rabeiro first met students on the soccer fields to celebrate their success on Nov. 18. The gathers money for tutoring programs, enrichment activities, books, stage lighting and sound systems for student performances and other programs.

The students who raised the most money were announced as Scotty Sheridan, Samuel Glow, Elena Glow, Kekai Hauanio, Rebecca Diaz, Anaya Hernandez and Rebecca Diaz (who was also the winner of an iTouch). As a result of their hard efforts, these students get to ride in a limo to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate.

Tonelli told the students that she didn’t see how she could “walk the plank” when there weren't any pirates around or any water. As soon as the students started pointing and cheering toward the Rec Center behind them, pirates appeared.

The pirates escorted Tonelli and Rabeiro to the water slide at the Rec Center. There, they rode down the slide into the chilly water below.

Lewis Elementary would like to extend a special thank you to their students, parents, faculty, PTA and Buccaneer Beads for making this fundraiser a huge success.