Kate Ryan, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – They’re not too cool for school — they’re freezing.

Thousands of kids from across Maryland dove into the Chesapeake Bay as part of the Special Olympics Frigid Friday Cool Schools Fundraiser.

Nate Garland, with Special Olympics Maryland, says as many as 3,500 kids signed up, and by Thursday night, they’d raised $250,000 — it’s expected when all the donations are tallied they may reach their goal of $350,000.

The Friday event is the precursor to Saturday’s Polar Bear Plunge, something Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley talked up on his last visit to Sandy Point State Park just two weeks ago.

“If you haven’t done it, you really should,” he said, smiling.

And the kids who took part in today’s plunge were totally gung-ho.

Before getting in, several veteran Frigid Friday participants passed on the following wisdom: “Don’t get your hair wet!” and “Run in and run right back out!”

Angel Boodoo, a senior at Prince George’s County’s Northwestern High, said she took part because she wanted to show her fellow students with special needs, “Some respect, it’s just something I thought I would do.”

Boodoo said the water was “Cold. Frigid is the correct word.”

Her classmate, Ocie Banks, was there to record the event for posterity — and the yearbook. As the official videographer, he didn’t have to get wet, “but I did get splashed,” he said.

The kids weren’t the only ones getting soaked for a good cause. Law enforcement agencies from across Maryland also took part, some walked in slowly, others marched double time into the Chesapeake Bay.

While it sure was cold, the weather wasn’t frigid — not technically. At noon, the air temperature was 55 degrees and the water temperature was recorded at 40 degrees. A lot easier than two years ago, said several students, when there were a few inches of snow on the beach, and flurries still coming down.

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