It’s Shark card time again! Shark card sales help purchase a lot of items and are very critical to support our athletic programs. Students should know why it’s so important to make sure they’re trying their hardest to sell as many of the cards as they can.

This year the school has hired a certified athletic trainer and athletics have to fundraise a third of her salary. This would not have been possible without these funds brought in by the shark cards and other fundraisers. Another major innovation within the athletic department is the advances to the weight room. According to Athletic Director Mr. Hemker, “We have furnished the weight room with over $30,000 worth of equipment. We’ve purchased thousands of dollars of uniforms and other athletic equipment. We are able to put our athletes in hotels and help provide food for when teams or individuals qualify for state. We also fund part of the four year athletic participation banquet. Shark card sales, along with other athletic department fundraisers, help pay for all of these things as well as anything else our athletes and teams need that is not covered in our general fund yearly budget.” Mr. Hemker also says that it is not stressful handing the cards out, but it is stressful having to collect them all. Students never seem too concerned with deadlines and some need constant reminders.

In the past, coaches have passed out the cards to their athletes and have collected them at the end of sales. About four years ago, the process changed and now they are all given out at the same time during the back to school assembly. Also, any student is now able to sell shark cards now, not just athletes. In 2015, 2016, and 2017, $5,425, $4,015, and $2,982, was made correspondly. Mr. Hemker has expressed that he would really like to bring in $4,000-$5,000 this year.