The Bold, Bald Students of Cass Junior High (PHOTOS)

They say two heads are better than one.

Try 35.

That’s how many people shaved their scalps Friday at , raising more than $17,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which supports childhood cancer research.

Cass teachers Becky Kriz and Katie Giradot coordinated — and participated in — the school’s event.

They organized it in memory of Ben Purcell, a 5-year-old boy who passed away last month from a rare form of lung cancer.

Ben was close friends with Kriz’s 8-year-old niece, Katie, who shaved her head earlier this month in tribute.

“I don’t think I’m that brave,” Katie told the packed gym. “This is a small thing I can do.”

firefighters, officers, and Cass students and teachers (as well as one Cass parent) shaved or gave to Locks of Love a total of 90 inches of hair.

Stylists from local salons donated their services. Some even closed their business so they could help out, Kriz said.

Giradot said she was moved to organize the event because of the number of people at Cass who in recent years have been affected by cancer. She was so committed that she, too, shaved her head.

“I thought, ‘It’s just hair,’” she said.

The event was part of a school day devoted to social and emotional learning, said Principal Christine Marcinkewicz. The grade levels rotated through sessions on teambuilding and Internet safety, with stops along the way to watch the St. Baldrick’s fundraiser in action.

“It just seemed like a natural fit,” Marcinkewicz said.

There were a few tears from girls who cut their hair to shoulder length for Locks for Love, which makes wigs for children experiencing chronic hair loss. Some of the boys were anxious before getting their heads shaved.

“I’m becoming less confident in my decision to do this,” one could be overheard saying.

But when it was all over, smiles plastered the kids’ faces as they took turns rubbing each other’s newly shorn heads. 

Being bald — and bold — is indeed beautiful at Cass.