Parish Students Rescue ‘Pete Panther’

The first Legacy event of the year at Parish Episcopal School might have been called “M15sion Impawsible,” but it didn’t self-destruct.

Led and designed by the school’s senior class, the Oct. 8 event involved students in grades 1-12 working together to rescue mascot Pete Panther.

The mission the students chose to accept: Pete the Panther was captured by the opposing football team’s mascot, and all groups had to solve clues and find a specific hidden puzzle piece, then meet in the gym to solve the puzzle together.

The seniors in each group were dressed in black or camouflage, and all students were given a team bandana to decorate as well as an agent nametag. After watching a news bulletin about the capture, each Legacy group received a clue to decode. The clue led them to another location in the school to find a puzzle piece.

After locating their puzzle piece, the groups headed to the gym (while avoiding the “laser” and “mine” fields) to connect their puzzle pieces. The completed puzzle revealed a picture of Pete the Panther holding a sign that he was being held captive in the library basement.

Following a heroic rescue by football coach Scott Nady, Pete was reunited with his friends in the gym, where the seniors led the school in the Panther Beat.