Nashua South students ready to plunge to support Special Olympics

It’s the middle of the winter, and students are hoping for snow days, getting ready for finals and planning a trip to the beach. Yes, that’s right. A group of Nashua High School South students is planning to jump into the freezing waters of the Atlantic Ocean to raise money for Special Olympics New Hampshire. For 13 years, SONH has hosted the Penguin Plunge, a fundraising event in which plungers agree to dive into the Atlantic at Hampton Beach during the winter. The organization has also created a separate plunge for high school students looking to raise awareness for Special Olympics New Hampshire athletes. All of the money raised by the plungers will be used to help promote “unified sports” in high schools and also fund events held by SONH, including sports training and athletic competitions for more than 3,500 athletes. The fourth annual High School Plunge will take place Saturday, Feb. 4, and 15 South students will join the master of ceremonies, WMUR-TV 9 meteorologist Kevin Skarupa, at the coast. Members of Nashua South’s “flock” are seniors Sean Barrows, Katie Conmy, Hannah Cunningham, Bruna de Paula, Hannah Drake, Kim Hallowell, Pooja Karnane, Matt Lilley, Julianne MacDonald, Lexi Ossinger, Sarah Peterman, Melissa Power and Ben Stewart, sophomore Victoria Ziolek and freshman Emily Durette.