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A wet day for a polar plunge in Ogden

By Scott Schwebke - | Jan 22, 2012

OGDEN — As therain poured, 83 brave souls, some clad in bizarre costumes, ambled through the mud and onto the frozen ice where they plunged into the Weber River and instantly became human Popsicles.

They made the jump during the second annual “Freezin’ for a Reason!” Polar Plunge at Fort Buenaventura to raise money that will help 25 ninth-graders at North Davis Preparatory Academy travel to Spain in March.

The students will study at the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, where each student will demonstrate their proficiency in reading, writing and speaking Spanish.

North Davis Preparatory Academy is a charter school for grades K-9 in Layton with a Spanish-language focus. The school has hired 14 teachers from Spain to support the school’s immersion program.

Last year, students collected pledges from friends and family for their participation in the plunge. This year, they offered to let others to join in for a donation to the cause.

In addition to the 25 students traveling to Spain, numerous teachers and administrators from the school took the icy plunge.

Karyn Baker, a school administrative assistant who wore a bikini, said waiting to jump was more nerve-racking than hitting the water.

“The anticipation was the worse part,” she said while toweling off in a small building near the river where participants went to get dry.

David Henestrosa, a Spanish and math teacher who wore a woman’s floral print one-piece bathing suit, did a cannonball into the icy water.

“It’s not bad,” he said afterward. “It’s good for you. We should do it every day.”

Dawn Fambro, who coordinated the plunge, said she was pleased with the event’s success despite the wet weather.

“Everyone was in very, very happy spirits.”

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