Middle school turkey hunt raises more than $950 for local charity

Posted 11/24/20

There was a turkey hunt Friday at Powell Middle School. But the only danger faced by the “turkeys” in question was having a fun time.

The turkeys were really principal Kyle Rohrer …

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Middle school turkey hunt raises more than $950 for local charity

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There was a turkey hunt Friday at Powell Middle School. But the only danger faced by the “turkeys” in question was having a fun time.

The turkeys were really principal Kyle Rohrer and assistant principal Chanler Buck. They were sought around the building by school resource officer Matt Koritnik in a giant game of hide-and-seek. Koritnik was assisted by “guide” Stan Hedges, who also uploaded the search live to social media. The principals — err, turkeys — snuck around the school, leaving paper tracks, colorful feathers and occassionally gobbling as they traveled.

But there was a serious purpose behind the game. A school group, the Breakfast Club, decided it would be a good year to hold a fundraiser for Powell Valley Loaves and Fishes. The club breaks out by grade level and meets each week. The intent of the club is to welcome others, spread kindness and help students make connections in the school and community. The Breakfast Club determined it wanted to raise money for those in need and came up with the turkey hunt idea.

If the students met the first rung goal, $25 raised schoolwide, Rohrer would dress up like a turkey. If the second rung was met, $50, both Rohrer and Buck would sprout feathers. If the third goal, or $75 was met, then Koritnik would also dress up and pursue the principals.

Brittany Wenke is a counselor at the middle school and club sponsor. The first thing the club had to do, she said, was find out whether the principals were willing to participate.

“They are all about the kids,” Wenke said. “So they said it sounded like fun, figure out how to do it.”

The principals’ hiding places and escape routes were selected by the homeroom class that raised the most money.

The amount raised as of Friday morning was $950.

Isabelle Lobingier is an eighth-grade club member who joined three years ago. “Since it was going to be Thanksgiving, and we knew there were people without food, we wanted to donate to Loaves and Fishes so everyone would have food,” she said to explain where the fundraiser idea came from.

Jenessa Polson has also been in the club three years and she, too is an eighth-grader. “And we thought it was something fun and new. All the students really seemed to enjoy it,” she said at the end of the faux hunt, as a cheer went up from the student body.

The club accepts anyone as a member, and promotes inclusion without judgment, similar to the friendships formed by a group of wildly different students in the 1980s movie of the same name.

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