Roosevelt Students Participate in Relay For Life 

Roosevelt students walk laps around the campus         in the school-wide Relay For Life

Roosevelt students held a Mini Relay For Life last month that raised more than $1,200 for cancer research. The week-long program kicked off Monday, May 21, with a school assembly to promote the Coins For A Cure campaign. Students were asked to donate their loose change to the American Cancer Society to help fund a cure for cancer. Guest speakers at the assembly were West Side Middle School teacher Jim Nicholson, who is battling pancreatic cancer, and Dennis and Cortina McFee, whose daughter Diamond died of brain cancer in 2005, and for whom this first Roosevelt Relay For Life was dedicated. Diamond attended Roosevelt Elementary.

Students got into the spirit of the program by helping to count the coins in their classroom and by wearing clothing or accessories to promote each day's theme. On Tuesday, students sported sunglasses to Shade Out Cancer, Wednesday they donned hats to symbolize Hats Off to Being Smoke Free, and on Thursday they came to school in their pajamas to Jam Against Cancer. The students dressed in walking shoes and comfortable clothing on relay day, with many of them adding a purple ribbon to advertise what they were walking for.

Elkhart General Hospital partnered with Roosevelt by teaching health lessons each day. The health specialists taught the children the role sun safety, proper nutrition, physical activity and saying "No" to tobacco play in remaining cancer free. On relay day, the hospital sponsored a free health fair for the Roosevelt neighborhood, providing skin cancer screenings, cholesterol and blood pressure checks, and a variety of other medical procedures. The fair was held at the Pierre Moran Park Pavilion, which is adjacent to the Roosevelt campus. The relay itself lasted from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with classrooms taking turns walking around the school campus for 30 minutes. The students were excited about about participating, and not even a little rain could dampen their enthusiasm. The highlight of the week's activities was the closing assembly on Friday, at which time the McFees thanked the students for their efforts and explained how much their support meant to families such as theirs.

Roosevelt students keep well    hydrated with water supplied by      DuMor Water Specialists

Shade Out Cancer Day

Dennis McFee and Roosevelt principal Beth Bouchard then took turns shearing Wood's hair. Wood had promised the students he would shave his head if they rasied enough money. Wood said he had three main outcomes in mind when he organized the relay: education, empathy, and fundraising.  "Children at this age understand things better if you can connect the learning to feelings and people," he said. "Having Diamond's parents tell her story and having Mr. Nicholson explain how the treatments effected him helped our students connect to the purpose of the relay."

Jam Against Cancer Day

Wood said his reason for dedicating the event to Diamond was to remind the entire Roosevelt community how much she loved Roosevelt. "In each assembly, I mentioned that when Diamond was near the end of her fight the one thing she asked for was to graduate with her classmates," Wood said. "At the end of this little girl's life the most important thing on her mind was going back to school!"

With that in mind, Wood said he planned the week's activities to highlight how great Roosevelt is and why Diamond loved it so.

Students watch as assistant principal Andy Wood loses his locks.

Dennis McFee, father of cancer victim Diamond McFee, shaves Wood's head.

Wood sports his new doo after students raised more than $1,200 for cancer                    research.

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