Laser gaming, playing FIFA and sumo wrestling are things that students do not normally do at school but at the Huygens Lyceum in Eindhoven it is possible this week. Together with teachers, they are raising money for ‘WensAmbulance’, by undertaking all kinds of activities. The charity helps the last wish of terminally ill people come true.
“We already held an annual action day on 5 December, where we raise money for a good cause, but this year we wanted to make it a bit bigger. For example, this year we have our own glass house*, called ‘Het Glazen Huygens’, where students have to pay one euro and then a song is played at their request. I also have to play songs there for an hour,” says principal Loes Corbeij enthusiastically.
Head shave
In addition to the glass house, students can also participate in other activities for a few euros. For example, there is a Bob Ross painting course and children can play hide-and-seek in the school building in the evenings when school is closed. “There is even someone who organises a gaming tournament of the Nintendo game ‘Super Smash Bros’ and if someone manages to beat him, he gets his head shaved,” says philosophy teacher Feike Weeda.
In addition to the activities, the children themselves have also been hard at work. “Students had to come up with their own ‘challenges’ to raise money. For example, there are first-year students who use their free periods to collect bottles,” says Corbeij. The students also get something in return for their hard work. “The three classes that have raised the most money win an overnight stay here at school.”
The students even open their own restaurant on Wednesday evening; where local residents, parents and former teachers judge all the food as food critics. The student who puts the tastiest dish on the table will also be rewarded with a prize.
Thinking of someone else
These kinds of activities are of course all great fun, but according to the principal of the secondary school it is also part of education. “As a school we also think this is part of education in the context of citizenship. It is of course nice to get presents yourself during the holidays but it is also good to think of someone else. For example, we also let the children choose a good cause themselves and we eventually ended up with the WensAmbulance.” Next Friday the secondary school will announce how much money has been raised with their campaign.
*The glass house refers to an annual charity drive where Dutch djs lock themselves into a glass house and play requested music for money. Each year focuses an a new cause This year’s choice is research into metabolic diseases in children. [Editor]
Source: Studio040
Translated by Kirti
