Superdance

Approximately one month before Superdance, the student body gather in the school auditorium for a three-hour assembly organized by the student council and members of the Superdance committees. The program includes a variety of guest speakers, videos, dancing, games and student presentations, all for the purpose of educating those assembled on the realities of cystic fibrosis and energizing the students as they prepare for the dance marathon. At the end of the assembly, this year’s theme for Superdance is revealed.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an inherited chronic disease that affects the lungs and digestive system of about 30,000 children and adults in the United States (70,000 worldwide). A defective gene and its protein product cause the body to produce unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs and leads to life-threatening lung infections; and obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food. In the 1950s, few children with cystic fibrosis lived to attend elementary school. Today, advances in research and medical treatments have further enhanced and extended life for children and adults with CF. Many people with the disease can now expect to live into their 30s, 40s and beyond. Find out more at www.cff.org.

Since 1975, Bishop O'Connell students have been hosting a 12-hour dance marathon to help find a cure for cystic fibrosis and their quest to find a cure for this genetic disease. The first dance marathon was organized by Msgr. James McMurtrie—then principal of the school—and Maura O'Donnell, whose sister had succumbed to cystic fibrosis not long before. For more than 30 years, Superdance has become a uniting force at Bishop O'Connell. Maura O'Donnell, who helped start this tradition, went on to nursing school, but also died from CF a few years later. Representatives of the O'Donnell family, and other families stricken with this disease, come each year to the Superdance assembly to help educate and inspire the students.