Thurston students accept challenges during weeklong event

As much as the weeklong EPIC Challenge is a fun break from the routine for Thurston Middle School students, the annual fundraising event, with its multiple games, also provides lessons in teamwork.

And the students inside the gym Friday were soaking it all up.

They had one minute to complete certain challenges like the Magic Carpet Ride and Egg Roll during their regular physical education periods on the last day of the three-day event. Students in grades 6 through 8 earned points throughout the competition in hopes of securing a special lunch, along with some high-fives and plenty of laughs.

“It’s a good way to get them outside of their normal behavior,” said parent Jennifer Kluver. “It gets them out of their shells.”

Kluver oversaw the Magic Carpet Ride game, in which students — seated on bath mats — scooted across the gym floor in a relay-style race. Four students split into teams of two, with each person taking one leg of the race — about 30 feet — against a competitor.

Kluver said the best duo she saw completed the task in 50 seconds.

Another contest required children to rapidly wave pizza boxes to create enough of a breeze to move a plastic egg across the floor in just one minute.

Each student signed up for a minimum of three games, said event chairwoman and Thurston PTA President Angela Shipp.

The types of games change every year so the kids don’t have to repeat contests, Shipp said of EPIC, which is in its fifth year at Thurston.

Asked what the key is to performing well as a team, seventh-grader James Loughlin, 13, said: “Cheering each other on. We always try to do our best and help our teammates out.”

The students, who get pledges from sponsors before competing, stepped up fundraising this year as well. As of Friday afternoon, the children had raised more than $41,000 for the school, exceeding a goal of $32,000, Shipp said. Additional donations were expected.

“The ultimate goal is for the kids to have fun,” Shipp said.

Thurston Principal Jenny Salberg was quick to credit parent volunteers who supervised games throughout the week.

“Every hour we had 15 to 20 parents come out,” Salberg said. “What a great way to be part of your kid’s day.”