Dist. 15 school climbing wall project builds strength, integrity

With the "Chariots of Fire" theme song providing a dramatic backdrop, about 750 screaming students at Palatine's Hunting Ridge School cheered on their principal as she scaled a rock-climbing wall.

Diane Murphy ended up losing the tight race to Assistant Principal Nancy Bradish, but it was all in good fun -- and for a good cause.

After months of fundraising, the elementary school dedicated its new climbing wall Thursday. The endeavor also benefited an inner-city school that will likely never have such a luxury.

The idea for the 8-foot-tall, 44-foot-wide horizontal rock-climbing wall was physical education teacher David Sobel's. He wanted to expand the curriculum.

A group of nine motivated parents rolled with it, forming the Climb Up and Reach Out committee, or CURO, back in the fall.

The purpose was twofold: raise enough money for the climbing wall while supporting an inner-city school.

Hunting Ridge already had a relationship with the Brian Piccolo Specialty School on Chicago's northwest side, donating books in the past.

The staff at Brian Piccolo, where more than 94 percent of the school's 800 students are considered low-income, provided a wish list that included school supplies and uniform T-shirts.

"This was a labor of love that the parents just really embraced," Murphy said.

Last month, more than 250 Hunting Ridge parents packed Durty Nellie's in Palatine for a fundraiser that brought in $23,000.

Students contributed to the cause as well, raising $585 over the course of the year by collecting change.

The climbing wall had a $14,000 price tag, so there were ample funds leftover to fulfill Brian Piccolo's needs. Hunting Ridge also bought maps and globes for all its classrooms.

Murphy said the kids know their school is privileged, and that the project was about more than an athletic apparatus.

Said sixth-grader Joanna Josten: "Not only did we raise money for our rock wall, but we also raised money for a school less fortunate than ours."

It's also been a lesson in patience, since the kids have been drooling over the climbing wall since it was installed Monday.

"They've been desperate to get up there," Sobel said.