SANDPOINT — In a challenge set forth by Clark Fork High School instructor KC MacDonald and his leadership class, Washington Elementary students collected 214 pounds of school supplies for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

As per the challenge, the class that collected the most school supplies by weight would be rewarded with an ice cream sandwich party. Apparently, Charlene Hitchcock's second-grade class really likes ice cream, because they brought it home with 96 pounds of supplies.

"For the schools in Texas, I know it won't make that big of a dent, but it will help," said sixth-grader Via Vachon, Washington's student council treasurer.

Wampy, Clark Fork's wampus cat mascot, along with four other Clark Fork students and Washington Elementary's sixth-grade leadership team, blew through the elementary classes Thursday morning. They carried with them an old-fashioned physician's scale and a plastic tote, weighing the items from each class as they went.

After adopting the Texas school, KC MacDonald reached out to local elementaries, and since Jeanne Warwick, sixth-grade teacher at Washington, formerly taught at Clark Fork, she was first on his list.

"We needed a project for student council and one of our student council advisors, and we needed a project to kick off the year, so we chose this one," Warwick said. "We are thankful Clark Fork is doing this and are willing to take (the items) and ship them for us, and we're glad that we can help a school in Texas."

Washington's leadership team includes student council president Aliya Strock, vice president Etta Francis, secretary Hannah Bennett and Via as treasurer. The group was more than excited to take on the task of leading the group around the school to collect and weigh the items.

"It was really fun," Aliya said after the group finished collecting and tallying up the items. "This was the best day."

"And it means a lot to the people in Texas," Etta added.

The supplies will go to Jessup Elementary School in Houston, Texas. While the school made it through the hurricane without damage, many of the families lost everything. The principal of the school, Ryan Pavone, sent an email to MacDonald detailing the impact the hurricane had on the community. The largest apartment complex that feeds into the school lost 400 of its first floor units, Pavone wrote. Several smaller complexes and homes in the area saw the same devastation. Pavone said many students had to double up with other families, while others are living in hotels.

The CFHS leadership class is made up of students in grades nine-11. The class was represented at Washington Thursday by Wampy, also known as Hunter Sutton, Nick Miller, Chase Sutton, Hailey Bristol and Abbie Anderson.

"Teaching kids to think outside themselves and even as far away as another state, it's a cool thing," MacDonald said. "... Our country is not that big — we can connect with a lot of people."

MacDonald said he received an email in regard to "Principals Helping Principals," a nationwide effort to help the schools and students affected by Hurricane Harvey. To assist with the effort, Hope and Sagle elementary schools are collecting school supplies for MacDonald's class to send to Texas as well.

In his email, Pavone said the students and faculty at Jessup are "very resilient," focusing efforts on the virtue of compassion. One teacher, for example, is living at her brother’s house after her home flooded. In the mornings, she will stop by her house to grab lunch out of her refrigerator for work, which she would carry in a plastic grocery bag. One day, one of her students, an 8-year-old second-grader, told her that she had a present for her. The following day she brought her a lunch box.

"A very sweet gesture that we see being repeated over and over again, by all members of our community, both big and small," Pavone said.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.