The following is a release from the Lake Washington School District:

A unique prize motivated almost 200 Finn Hill Middle School (FHMS) students to sell five or more magazines in the school’s record-breaking magazine drive. These students earned the chance to participate in a Color Challenge obstacle course designed by the FHMS Leadership class. During the Color Challenge, students worked in teams to solve mental and physical challenges within a five-minute time limit. Their reward? The chance to have dry paint thrown at them, coloring their clothes in a rainbow.

Students in the FHMS Leadership class design ed the obstacles for the Color Challenge, built the course, and organized the event. Challenges included unscrambling letters to create a motivational sentence, giving directions to safely and quickly lead a blind-folded team member to a goal. Another challenge was to create and balance a PVC-pipe cube on one corner, then working together to climb through four faces of that cube. After successfully completing each challenge, the team of students found a teacher who would throw dry paint on them. Using creative-thinking, cooperation, and teamwork, the students accomplished the goal of wearing as much paint as possible.

The magazine drive raised over $35,000, a 55 percent increase over last year. Funds raised through the magazine drive support a variety of ASB activities, including funding buses, uniforms, and equipment for sports teams, hosting evening dances and movies for FHMS students, and purchasing air hockey and basketball nets for students to use at lunch.