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As Bond Mill Elementary School students chanted, "Slime our principal! Slime our principal!" Principal Justin FitzGerald began counting to three.
Once prompted, second- and fifth-graders doused him with green slime — a combination of water, cornstarch and green food coloring.
From June 3 to June 17, the two grades each raised $350 by collecting loose change. The school raised $1,500 total.
Dawn Bell-Coronado, co-chairwoman of the Playground Refurbishment Committee, said the idea for sliming came up as one way for the school to raise the required $65,000 to build a new playground at the school. She added that other fundraisers are tentatively planned this summer — including a car wash and movie night — in hopes of an October build day to coincide with the community's annual Halloween costume parade.
Bell-Coronado said the committee was looking for a unique incentive to the fundraising.
"We have so many incentives that tend to be food-driven," she said. "A lot of kids can relate to Nickelodeon slime, so we threw in an added benefit of getting to slime [Principal FitzGerald]."
FitzGerald said he willingly sacrificed his cleanliness for the students.
"If it means taking a bath in slime, it's all worth it. We want to make a great playground," he said. "My eyes were shut, but by the sounds of it, the kids were excited."
Bell-Coronado said the Parent Teacher Organization has managed to raise $9,000 in private donations to update the cramped, old equipment, some of which dates back to the school's opening in 1967.
Tanzi West, county schools spokeswoman, said playgrounds are not normally included in the county's Capital Improvement Program budget, and because they are material expenses, cannot be put in the operating expenses budget. Therefore, schools and Parent Teacher Associations have historically raised the necessary funds on their own.
Fifth-grade teacher Cathy Hass said she wasn't surprised the students managed to raise so much money.
"This is a great class of kids. They knew what it was for and they felt like a real part of it," she said.
Fifth-grader Carter Stephens, 11, of Laurel said he found money around his house, especially under the couch.
Seneca Bradley, 10, of Laurel said that although she will be going to Martin Luther King Middle School in Beltsville next year, she will use the playground once it's built.
"Of course. We paid for it," she said.
Bell-Coronado said the committee hired the New Hampshire-based company Learning Structures to help the school with the process. In May, the company met with students and the community to generate design ideas, and recently sent the committee a preliminary design.
Kelli Magowan, Learning Structures business manager, said the organization has helped more than 600 communities design playgrounds across the United States.
"It's very much a part of our process to work closely with communities and playground committees," she said. "We make sure we're designing a playground that speaks volumes about the community."
E-mail Timmy Gelles at tgelles@gazette.net.
