Aiming for a sticky world record

May 28, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

Lester B. Pearson students will be limbering up their lips this week in an attempt to beat the world record for the largest number of people in any one place blowing bubbles.

They’re not trying to blow bubbles of the soap and water variety, but the pesky, pink chewing gum at their annual spring picnic to celebrate the end of the school year on Thursday, June 6.

This year, the students are helping take charge of the picnic itself and looking for a way to do something truly memorable; they collaborated with parents and staff to lay the groundwork to take on the bubble challenge.

They need at least 540 students and staff to blow their bubble gum all at the same – and make it last for at least 30 seconds – in order to beat the record.

“We had a bunch of parents in charge of the committee this year and we decided to make it more memorable,” says Grade 8 student Deirdre Godsell. “We decided breaking the world record would be kind of neat.”

According to fellow student, Alyssa Izatt, students will be practicing this week while they continue to make announcements, make posters, and get the word out.

“There was a lot of buzz when people heard we were trying to beat the Guinness World Record,” she says. “That is a big thing, we’re excited, and everyone realises it is doable and that’s why everyone is pumped up.”

Along with setting a world record, this year’s picnic will have an “Around the World” theme, with students having the chance to buy passports for all the food and activities on offer. There will also be a student art auction, which people can bid on. They’re hoping to raise more money they can spend on the picnic and proceeds will be used to leave a parting gift as a legacy to the school before they go on to High School.

“This is the first time we have empowered the students with such ownership over such a significant event and it is just really rebuilding the whole idea of giving back to your school,” says Principal Arin Otis. “This year we had a new committee of parents take over and they were the ones who were at the forefront of initiating getting our student leaders into the mix.

“If we are fortunate enough to have the ability to give back, the big push is always technology as we empower our students moving forward in alignment with our board plan and how we engage students and inspire them to become lifelong learners. We’re looking at the prospect of the legacy of the Grade Eights as they are on their way out to continue to build the capacity of our students and developing our digital literacy skills and [create] digital citizens.”