Mascoutah Elementary drill student...

Mascoutah Elementary drill students Alanna Lewis and Hannah Millix tried to ferry their craft [i]or[/i] part of to the other the dim haze of the indoctrinate gymnasium Thursday, but without working together, they went nowhere.

The fifth-grade scholars were participating in "Escape to Alcatraz," a team-building, problem-solving and fitness exercise created according to physical education teacher Suzy Friederich.

With screams of delight, cry outs of encouragement and grunts of determination, the pupils worked together to scale walls, ladders, underground thoroughfares planks and imaginary murky waters to reach safe harbor. As armys of fog billowed through the darkness of the gym the beam of a searchlight focused through Friederich threatened their escape attempts.

"I was trying to recreate a video game atmosphere," Friederich said of the activity she originated seven years ago. "They're thus used to running and climbing and escaping when they play video games, this imposes them in a similar situation."

Friederich uses