This Spring, there is no shortage of events to fill up your calendar, from music to food to fitness.On the Northshore this month, there’s a special one-stop shop, all for a great cause.Each year the Crescent City Classic welcomes thousands of the world’s top runners to the big easy. This Spring, a first north of the lake, as locals lace up their running shoes for a qualifier at Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell.”It’s just exciting because it’s the first ever on the Northshore for everybody who wants to go to the Southshore to do the Crescent City Classic,” PJP Principal Kimberlie Kilroy said.The 10K qualifying event will take place Saturday, March 25. It’s also part of a spring fest showcase on Jaguar Drive, featuring a crawfish cookoff and fund-raising color run.”We know that a body in motion stays in motion, so why not promote all those things while fundraising for the school and giving back to the community by offering an event like this,” Kilroy said.This year’s proceeds will help the school replace decades-old bleachers within its gym, which also serves as a focal point for the Slidell community.”This is the hub of our school, and in addition to that we do offer our gym to the community for the youth, students who are younger who do not attend here and teams that cannot have access to a gym otherwise,” Kilroy said. “They come, and they use our gym to run practices, run tournaments.”For the students at Pope John Paul II High School, the chance to give back is a calling.”Being able to support the community, being able to help people in anything from sports to fundraisers, we’re glad to have people come to us, and we’re so blessed to have that opportunity to help them,” student Wyatt Combs said.Josh Greenwood added that it would take a collaborative effort to reach their fundraising goals.”We’re all gonna put in the work to make it happen, especially at the color run,” Greenwood said. “We just need the community to help us out. We can’t do it alone.”Both the PJP campus and student body have seen their share of adversity over the past two years. From damage sustained in Hurricane Ida to a destructive water line break last summer to the tragic deaths of a recent alum and standout student-athlete.”We have been faced with a lot of adversity with our facilities, as well as we have lost a significant loss with our students,” Kilroy said. “With Avery Natal and Christian Tullis, so we have been faced with a lot. A lot of turmoil and hurt.”However, this close-knit community continues to rally, running through the tough times together.”Everyone has been so amazing,” student Ali Tullis said. “Everyone’s helped through everything. My brother Colin is coming here next year, and he was kinda scared at first. ‘I though my big brother was going to have my back.’ Many of Christian’s classmates have said if you want to come to this school, we’ll be your big brother at this school.”Kilroy has been in awe of the toughness and togetherness of the school community.”To see the strength and the resilience of this community, of our student body and faculty, our teachers and our parents,” Kilroy said. “It Just continues to remind me that what God has called me to do here.”You can register for the 10K qualifier, the 5K color run, or the Crawfish Cookoff HERE.
This Spring, there is no shortage of events to fill up your calendar, from music to food to fitness.
On the Northshore this month, there’s a special one-stop shop, all for a great cause.
Each year the Crescent City Classic welcomes thousands of the world’s top runners to the big easy. This Spring, a first north of the lake, as locals lace up their running shoes for a qualifier at Pope John Paul II High School in Slidell.
“It’s just exciting because it’s the first ever on the Northshore for everybody who wants to go to the Southshore to do the Crescent City Classic,” PJP Principal Kimberlie Kilroy said.
The 10K qualifying event will take place Saturday, March 25. It’s also part of a spring fest showcase on Jaguar Drive, featuring a crawfish cookoff and fund-raising color run.
“We know that a body in motion stays in motion, so why not promote all those things while fundraising for the school and giving back to the community by offering an event like this,” Kilroy said.
This year’s proceeds will help the school replace decades-old bleachers within its gym, which also serves as a focal point for the Slidell community.
“This is the hub of our school, and in addition to that we do offer our gym to the community for the youth, students who are younger who do not attend here and teams that cannot have access to a gym otherwise,” Kilroy said. “They come, and they use our gym to run practices, run tournaments.”
For the students at Pope John Paul II High School, the chance to give back is a calling.
“Being able to support the community, being able to help people in anything from sports to fundraisers, we’re glad to have people come to us, and we’re so blessed to have that opportunity to help them,” student Wyatt Combs said.
Josh Greenwood added that it would take a collaborative effort to reach their fundraising goals.
“We’re all gonna put in the work to make it happen, especially at the color run,” Greenwood said. “We just need the community to help us out. We can’t do it alone.”
Both the PJP campus and student body have seen their share of adversity over the past two years. From damage sustained in Hurricane Ida to a destructive water line break last summer to the tragic deaths of a recent alum and standout student-athlete.
“We have been faced with a lot of adversity with our facilities, as well as we have lost a significant loss with our students,” Kilroy said. “With Avery Natal and Christian Tullis, so we have been faced with a lot. A lot of turmoil and hurt.”
However, this close-knit community continues to rally, running through the tough times together.
“Everyone has been so amazing,” student Ali Tullis said. “Everyone’s helped through everything. My brother Colin is coming here next year, and he was kinda scared at first. ‘I though my big brother was going to have my back.’ Many of Christian’s classmates have said if you want to come to this school, we’ll be your big brother at this school.”
Kilroy has been in awe of the toughness and togetherness of the school community.
“To see the strength and the resilience of this community, of our student body and faculty, our teachers and our parents,” Kilroy said. “It Just continues to remind me that what God has called me to do here.”
You can register for the 10K qualifier, the 5K color run, or the Crawfish Cookoff HERE.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)