Teachers race against each other, students cheer as loud as they can, and gleaming trophies are won.

The 11th annual Battle of the Buildings brought out hundreds of students and raised thousands of dollars for the Dollars for Scholars fund.

Teams comprised of teachers, students, and administration from around the district began the battle with an apple relay; each member ran across the gym with an apple on their head and passed it to the next member.

Friendship started the battle on top of the charts.

The next game was one all kids are familiar with – the floor is lava.  

Teams had to travel across the gym using two folded gym mats in whatever way they chose.

Throughout the whole race, the middle school and Friendship elementary were neck and neck, but Friendship took the victory once again.

The next relay was a combination of tasks.

 They had to flip a mini traffic cone and land it, and then throw a frisbee to their next teammate who then had to knock a pin off a wooden box.

Southern Middle took the W this round.

The tensions rose with each and every relay.

In the fourth relay, the teachers raced across the gym, bouncing a ping pong ball on a lunch tray to pass it off to their next teammate.  

Things got sour as the teams used hockey sticks to strike a lemon across the gym floor.  

The high school team earned the win with their outstanding teamwork.

Working towards an intense ending, the next race relied on a partnership.

 One partner held a basketball, as they were pushed to the opposite basketball hoop by their partner.

Then it was repeated towards the other side.

The gym teachers showed an upper hand in this game.

The final relay was a race to the opposite side through leg tunnels. 

Each team lined up behind each other, and to get to the other side, the end person had to crawl through their teammate’s legs to become the new front.

All teams were on each other’s tails in this one, and the middle school took the win.

Awards were decided as the students of each school cheered louder and louder with each relay win from their school team.  

In the end, there were three awards given.  

Friendship Elementary won top elementary school, Southern Middle won top secondary school, and Southern Elementary won the most spirited award.

With all the tickets sold for the Battle of the Buildings, over $10,000 was raised for the Dollars for Scholars fund, financing scholarships for seniors graduating this year.