Notre Dame's Activity Week getting 'bigger and better'

It's kind of like "Name That Tune" -- with food.

Imagine high school contestants on a stage hunched over a box of unknown food, claiming they can eat whatever is contained within in, say, five bites. If they can't, they lose the game.

That's the idea behind Notre Dame Regional High School's "Eat That Food," part of Tuesday afternoon's raucous assembly in another action-packed -- and at times zany -- Notre Dame Activity Week.

From Sunday-style dinners every day to helicopter rides, the weeklong fundraiser and student spirit builder is in full swing.

"You name it, it's going on," Notre Dame principal Brother David Migliorino said.

And it seems everybody s involved. In the school's one big annual fundraiser, students wash cars, rake leaves, weed gardens and take on other service projects, while their parents help cook fish and fry chicken for hundreds during Notre Dame's Week of Sunday Dinners.

"This is our only major fundraiser; we do everything this week," Migliorino said. "People just love it every year, and every year it gets bigger and better."

The helicopter rides alone raised $400, money that will help pay for improvement projects and other items in the academic and capital budgets.

Bonnie Westrich, secretary to the principal, paid $20 to take a chopper ride around Cape. Westrich said much has changed since the 1970s, when she was a student and took part in Activity Week.

"It's always been a spirit builder and a help financially to the school, but it's 10 times better now than it was," she said.

Students can look forward to more fun and games to conclude the week. Scheduled assembly competitions include "Rock Band" and a Notre Dame version of "Deal or No Deal," with contestants vying for prizes like doughnuts and early dismissal.

Dinners continue tonight and Thursday, with food served from 5 to 7 p.m. Contact Notre Dame at 335-6772 for more information on the meals or student service projects.

mkittle@semissourian.com

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