Walnut Road Elementary principal John Horstead had to kiss a pig, not once, but twice as part of a deal with his students.
“Our school is so big, so we have to run two assemblies. I figured I’d have to do it twice,” Horstead told the Now-Leader.
Horstead said the deal with the students started as an incentive for the children to hit a fundraising goal of $5,000 for the Jump Rope for Heart initiative for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
“As an incentive for the kids to fundraise, I said I would kiss a pig. This was determined by our kindergarten class who said it’s the year of the pig, and I said, ‘I’ll kiss a pig if you can do it.’”
Students in kindergarten to Grade 7 raised $6,580.50.
While Horstead joked that he had been preparing all morning to kiss a pig, he added that he was “really excited, as crazy as that sounds.”
“I want to give the kids something that they can remember. they may not remember that wonderful grammar lesson they got, but they might remember the time they saw their principal kiss a pig.”
Horstead said he had been getting “funny” reactions from the students.
“Some are absolutely mortified that I’ve got to do it, and others are excited beyond measure.”
Walnut Road Elem. students raised money for the Heart & Stroke Foundation thru Jump Rope for Heart. The principal said if students raised more than the $5K, he would kiss a pig. So here I am, listening to students chant “kiss a pig” while we wait for the pig to come in. #surreybc
— Lauren Collins (@laurenpcollins1) March 15, 2019
As students filed into the gym, they could be heard chanting, “Kiss a pig.”
Jack, a mix between a pot belly big and a mini juliana, came sauntering out onto the stage. But when it came time for Horstead to kiss Jack, the pig got a bit snippy, and Horstead instead had to kiss Jack’s forehead.
Meanwhile, the assemblies weren’t just for Horstead to kiss the pig.
One student presented representatives with the Heart & Stroke Foundation with a cheque. Of the $6,580.50 raised, five-year-old Georgia Spindor raised $1,125.
Georgia said she raised the money through friends, families and neighbours. She said she brought a clipboard, prepared a speech and brought along a video of herself skipping when asking people for donations.
Asked if there was someone close to her that made her want to raise the money, Georgia said she likes to help people but the prizes for raising certain funds helped.
Next year, Georgia said she plans to help her younger brother raise money for the fundraiser.
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lauren.collins@surreynowleader.com
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