Chicago students get creative for COVID-safe Polar Plunge
People usually jump into Lake Michigan for the annual Polar Plunge, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, groups are doing it separately and finding creative ways to join.
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge at St. Patrick’s High School in the Belmont Central neighborhood, Saturday morning, March 6, 2021, where students and teachers participated to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many to reimagine traditions, and that includes the Polar Plunge, an annual rite that usually sends thousands of people jumping into the freezing waters of Lake Michigan to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago.
Instead, teachers and students took the tradition inland Saturday morning to the campus of St. Patrick High School in the Belmont Central neighborhood, where they ran across a football field, threw rubber chickens through hula hoops, did pushups and plunged into a pool filled with snow and water.
The Northwest Side school, which has been participating in the Polar Plunge for the past five years, raised about $10,700 for Special Olympics Chicago and Special Children’s Charities this year, according to Christopher Perez, St. Patrick’s assistant principal.
“We have to stay safe. That’s the No. 1 priority, especially during a pandemic,” said Dominic Sabella, an alumnus who took part. “If they have to change, they have to change to the new safety protocols, but being able to still participate in the tradition is really big and important.”
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.
Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Students did likewise earlier in the week at Marist High School, running through an elaborate obstacle course with a “polar cannon” shooting out water like a fire hydrant.
Marist High School students run through a specially-designed “polar cannon” as a coronavirus-safe Polar Plunge alternative on Tuesday. Around 100 students participated.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Organizers of the citywide Polar Plunge called off the in-person event earlier this year, opting instead for a virtual fundraiser which runs through Sunday at www.chicagopolarplunge.org. They encourage participants to “plunge safely in a setting of their choosing, whether it be jumping in the snow or running through a sprinkler.”
Since the first Polar Plunge 22 years ago, participants have raised more than $24 million in for charity and other programming statewide.
Students shovel snow to put in a wading pool for their version of the Polar Plunge at St. Patrick’s High School in the Belmont Central neighborhood, Saturday morning, March 6, 2021.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
1 of 12
Students throw ice into a wading pool for their version of the Polar Plunge at St. Patrick’s High School.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
2 of 12
Student Mike Burke and teacher Mary Gibson run towards a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
3 of 12
Students run and do push-ups before jumping into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
4 of 12
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
5 of 12
A student throws a ball into a hoop before jumping into a wading pool filled with snow and water.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
6 of 12
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
7 of 12
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge at St. Patrick’s High School in the Belmont Central neighborhood.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
8 of 12
A student throws a ball before jumping into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
9 of 12
A student jumps into a wading pool filled with snow and water for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge at St. Patrick’s High School.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
10 of 12
A student jumps into wading pool filled with snow and water while another runs for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
11 of 12
Mason Kim shakes his head after plunging into a wading pool with snow for St. Patrick High School’s version of the Polar Plunge.|Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
The employee, a 45-year-old man, exchanged gunfire Friday night with two people who entered the business in the 2900 block of West North Avenue and announced a robbery.
Just after midnight, a 49-year-old man was standing in the street in the 3000 block of West Warren Boulevard when someone exited a white sedan and opened fire, Chicago police said.
An Indiana record yellow perch, green herons at Rosehill cemetery and finding morel mushrooms set against a Christopher Morel home run, noted in the Sun-Times used as a time stamp, are among the notes from around Chicago outdoors and beyond.
