Lac La Marte (May 08/06) - It was a long, sleepless night for most of the 28 students who raised $1,674.54 for World Vision during their 30-hour Famine April 28-29.

But they didn't go hungry, snacking away on fresh-baked cookies, pizza, popcorn and a hearty breakfast of French toast and bacon.

That's the way it was supposed to be as the school decided to hold a sleepless marathon, rather than the traditional fast.

"Because we wanted to include younger kids, we stayed awake for 30 hours instead," said teacher Aleasha Kapteyn.

The 30 hours began at 8 a.m. Friday and ended at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Most of the Grade 5-12 students made it through the night, playing soccer in the gym, participating in a Halo 2 video game tournament, surfing the Internet in the school computer lab or playing a variety of other games.

"My parents thought I was crazy" for wanting to take part in the event," said Lindsay Nitsiza, a 12-year-old Grade 6 student.

She spent the night playing in the gymnasium, on the computer and enjoying board games. Lots of hot chocolate helped her stay awake.

When she got home, Lindsay said she went right to bed and "slept until 5:30 in the morning."

At 15, Grade 9 student Rasinda Beaverho is used to staying awake late into the night during sleepovers with friends.

"We stayed awake by running around and being hyper," she said.

She said it wasn't strange to be in the school late at night, and that she found some great hiding spots during one of their games of hide-and-seek.

Joseph Simpson, 14, honed his soccer skills during the marathon, getting ready for Super Soccer, held in Yellowknife this past weekend.

He said he had a little trouble staying awake when the lights were turned down as they all watched the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

The school's teachers took part in the event, helping bake cookies and playing in the gymnasium. Principal Bill Hurley helped cook breakfast the next day.

As a reward for exceeding their $1,000 goal, Hurley promised the students he would let them dye his hair pink.

The money will go to World Vision's work to help needy people in Africa.