By Mark Coddington
mark.coddington@theindependent.com

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Independent/Barrett Stinson Grand Island Senior High teachers (from left) Mike Shadwinkle, Lance Nelson, Nancy Cowgill and Dustin ³Bubba² Penas battle a student team in a tug-of-war event during an all-school pep rally based on Rachelıs Challenge, an anti-violence program inspired by Rachel Scott, the first victim in 1999ıs Columbine shooting. The student team won the match. Independent/Barrett Stinson In the final round of the tug-of-war contest, the student team, including (from left) Karen Hereno and Eric Schwieger, defeated the teachersı team to win the Rachelıs Challenge pep rally event. Independent/Barrett Stinson Grand Island Senior High students (from left) Johnny Venegas, Queven Barrios and Ben Iron Horse dance around Cayla Kaiser, who is dressed as the devil, during the no-no dance portion of Friday morningıs Rachelıs Challenge pep rally. Click Thumbnails to View

But the students weren't cheering for a sports team. They were giving it up for Senior High French teacher Jeanne Cronin, who was busy shaking her rear end at a student dressed in devil horns.

It was the second year in a row Cronin had won the students' support for her ability to bust a few moves while representing good choices.

Cronin's defiant dance and her subsequent win in what Activities Director Joe Kutlas called the "no-no dance caucus" was part of an all-school pep rally based on Rachel's Challenge. The anti-violence program was inspired by Rachel Scott, the first victim in 1999's Columbine shooting.

Caroline Jones, a mental health and substance abuse counselor at Senior High's St. Francis Student Wellness Center, said one of the primary goals of the rally was to help unify the student body.

"The feedback I get from kids is, 'It's such a big school. We need more to promote school unity and school spirit, and not just through sports,'" Jones said.

The rally's five events were also intended to reinforce the five principles of Rachel's Challenge: eliminating prejudice, setting goals, starting a chain reaction, journaling and choosing influences wisely.

Students and teachers were selected to participate in five competitions that each correlated with a different principle.

Cronin's dance, for example, was part of a "no-no dance" competition in which a few dozen participants danced away from bad influences represented by the girl in devil horns and toward good ones.

Earlier, eight teams competed in a short tug-of-war tournament, which was intended to illustrate teamwork without prejudice across different races, cultures and backgrounds, Kutlas told the students.

"And certainly here we have a difference of ages," Kutlas quipped when an all-teacher team squared off with a student team in the final. (The student team won a close-fought match, much to the excitement of the crowd.)

This year's pep rally was the second in what Jones hopes will become an annual event.

Senior High began its work with Rachel's Challenge last school year, with a speech by Scott's brother.

The school has since formed a Friends of Rachel Club made up of students who have agreed to live by the principles of Rachel's Challenge. They also recruit freshmen through a mixer and dance in the fall.

Jones said the program has gotten freshmen more involved in positive groups in the school and has helped make high school a less scary place for them, too.

And while Friday's event was mostly about fun, Jones said it provided students a visual connection with the tenets of Rachel's Challenge.

"It's just another reminder, another way to bring students together," she said.