A few Navy Midshipmen are keeping toasty warm in their Polar Bear Plunge finery! Photo by Delaney Dixon

By Rochelle Karina

Every year, the Polar Bear Plunge draws crowds from far and wide to take a dip in the chilly waters of the Chesapeake Bay for the benefit of Maryland Special Olympics. What many people don’t know is that on the Friday before Plunge Day, area schools come together for a special “Cool Schools” plunge called Frigid Friday.

This year, several local schools fielded plunge teams.

The Broadneck High School Polar Bruins raised a total of $2,363 for the Plunge, and the Severna Park High School Arctic Parkies team topped the charts with a whopping $10,298. Severna Park Middle School got into the act, raising $9,145.14 and the Magothy River Middle Frozen Marlins brought in $1,340.

Participating schools are divided into four divisions, elementary, middle, high and private and earn incentives for higher fundraising. The combined total for all participating schools was $287,022.30.

Congratulations to all of the Frigid Friday plungers!