Lakehill families gathered on August 23 for the annual Back-to-School Picnic. Held on the Saturday evening before the first day of school and sponsored by the Parent Faculty Club (PFC), the annual picnic is a favorite tradition among Lakehill families.

People across the country are participating in an event that has struck the nation full force, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. With social media posts of everyone from actors to fireman pouring ice water over their heads, Lakehill students, parents, and faculty joined in to help raise awareness of ALS - even Mr. Perry and Ms. Gajkowski.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis. 

The Ice Bucket Challenge is quite simple, despite the narrow time window in which to do it. In the video, one must first thank the person who nominated them. The nominee then selects three or more people who they think should participate in the challenge within the next 24 hours. Nominees may either donate or douse themselves with bone-chilling water (or both). Lastly, a bucket of ice water is poured on the nominee's head. If the video is not posted, one is expected to donate $100 to the ALS Association.

Today, there are over 30,000 Americans that have been diagnosed with ALS. As of August 26, The ALS Association has received $88.5 million in donations compared to $2.6 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 26). These donations have come from existing donors and 1.9 million new donors to The Association.