WALLENPAUPACK AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT — Students within the Wallenpaupack school district had the chance to drench their teachers and administrators in ice-cold water on Friday, February 28, as the school’s Unified Club held a Polar Pop event to support its Special Olympics and Unified Athletics programs. 

Special Olympics is a national program that provides opportunities for athletic competition to people with intellectual disabilities. The program’s Unified Sports component pairs Special Olympics athletes with people without intellectual disabilities, forming teams for higher levels of competition. 

Wallenpaupack has had a Unified program for around seven to eight years, said Jessica Baton, special education teacher and advisor of the Unified Club at Wallenpaupack. The program offers Unified Bocce in the winter and Unified Track and Field in the spring; the school’s Unified Track and Field Team won a state championship in 2021. 

This is the fifth year Wallenpaupack has held a Polar Pop as a Special Olympics fundraiser, said Barton. She said that PA Special Olympics generally holds polar plunge events throughout the state, but that Wallenpaupack didn’t want to detract from the polar plunge held annually to benefit the Ledgedale and Tafton Dive and Rescue Teams, so they went for the Polar Pop concept instead. 

On the day, a crowd of students gathered to see school figures drenched in cold water. Starting with Wallenpaupack superintendent Keith Gunuskey, teachers and administrators stepped up to have water balloons popped over their heads. 

One Special Olympics athlete, Charlie, said he participates in track and field, particularly in long jump. However, “I hate sand in my shoes,” he said. 

Another athlete, Alan, said he prefers bocce. He likes doing athletics for the socialization aspect, he said—he gets to talk to people during practice more than he gets to during the rest of the school day. 

Katie Schkolenko, a coach with the Unified team, said the program teaches kids to be kind to each other.