Teachers shave their scalps for Terry
By Chris Simon

Photo by Chris Simon Special education teacher Bruno Severin has his head shaved by a student at Alcona Glen Elementary School last week. Several teachers shaved their heads as a reward to students, who raised over $4,200 for the Terry Fox Foundation last month. Several hundred students took part in last month's Terry Fox Run.

Bruno Severin has been touched by cancer.

The Alcona Glen Public School special education teacher's father died of the disease. He'll do whatever he can to make sure fewer people die of cancer each year. So on Friday, Severin was touched by the blades of a clipper.

Along with two other teachers at the school, Severin was shaved bald in front of hundreds of students. One teacher also shaved his goatee, another teacher had her hair cut, while another had pink and blonde patches dyed into her hair. It was the students' reward for raising over $4,200 during their annual Terry Fox Run.

"I'm here because of my father," he said, just before being shorn, a black garbage bag tied around his neck to keep the impending clippings off his clothes. "I lost my father to cancer, so I'm donating my hair to support the Terry Fox Foundation and my dad."

As part of the event, students who had either already donated their hair, or raised the most money in their school divisions helped clip and cut.

It's the first time the school's staff have volunteered their locks en masse, said organizer and Grade 2 teacher Marlise Amadio.

"We do it annually, but this is the first time where teachers have agreed to do something in return," she said. "Some of them have had their hair dyed or they're having it cut today. There's specific challenges. It's their little challenge or initiative to raise money."

Although the school fell short of their $5,000 goal, students and parents worked hard to raise money this year. And students have begun to understand the significance of raising money for cancer research, she said.

"The parents and kids are always really generous," said Amadio. "The teachers (gave) a little bit of a speech, to say what motivated them to do this initiative. As they speak, it'll give the kids an awareness of why they've chosen to do this. There's two assemblies every year, this one and Remembrance Day, where the kids are really appreciative. They really respect these."

Terry Fox Foundation representative Lisa Rahm says schools play a major role in the organization's yearly fundraising initiatives. Over 3,700 Ontario schools annually raise money for the foundation.

"They raise million of dollars for cancer research," she said. "It's unbelievable that schools are so committed to funding cancer research. (Fox) himself said it would be the youth that would carry on his dream. Honestly, that's what has happened."

The foundation gives money to the National Cancer Institute, which conducts various research and prevention initiatives, said Rahm.