Kristi Savage, a member of Cagney’s Crawlers, a Quincy-area team that participates in the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, walked her first lap in this year’s June event a few days early and around the Argenziano School soccer field in Somerville where she teaches physical education.
“When we learned Ms. Savage had been singled out to receive the American Cancer Society’s Shining Star Award, we felt we had to celebrate in some way, and we wanted to do something a little more meaningful than a school assembly,” said friend and colleague Nancy Bakey, the English Language Arts teacher for the school’s upper grades and the organizer of the celebration.
“This is our nod to the “Relay for Life” event,” Ms. Bakey said of the surprise gathering June 17. The entire school, from kindergarteners to eighth graders and all the staff, some 600 people, dressed in cancer ribbon colors and lined the track surrounding the field.
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On a ruse, Ms. Savage was tricked into leaving the gym where she was supervising the seventh and eighth graders and walk outside. There she was greeted by her students, dressed in pink, green, blue, yellow, orange, black, grey and white, who cheered her as she walked that first lap.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Ms. Savage admitted when she accepted the award plaque naming her a Shining Star of the organization from a representative of the American Cancer Society. It took her nearly an hour to walk the quarter-mile circuit around the field she was so busy greeting, high-fiving and hugging her students along the route. “I’m amazed I didn’t know about it; and I pride myself on always knowing everything.
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“I’m amazed that some 575 kids kept that secret.”
Ms. Savage recently raised more than $2,000 for the Cancer Society when she auctioned off the right to shave her head to support a friend who is suffering from multiple myeloma and had lost her hair during treatment. Her team is looking to break the $25,000 mark when it participates in the Quincy Relay for Life at Pageant Field on June 21.
The night-long event starts at 4 p.m.; participants take turns walking the Pageant Field track throughout the night until the event wraps up at 8 a.m. There are several interesting themes planned for the evening, including Christmas in June, beach party and pajama party. There will even be a prom lap and a superhero lap.
“Today, we are celebrating the inspiration of Ms. Savage,” said Charlotte McLaughlin, organizer of the Quincy Relay for Life event. “She is an inspiration to her family, her friends and her students.”
One of her students, Sabhyata Sedhain, 11, a sixth grader at the school, was so inspired by her teacher, she cut 14 inches of her hair which she donated to Lock of Love, a non-profit that styles wigs for youngsters who have lost their hair due to medical conditions.
“The students were all excited to participate in this celebration; Ms. Savage is one of the school’s favorite teachers, she’s great with kids,” Ms. Bakey said.
