Rhonda Robeson and Rosella Fonte go down the slide at Pump It Up. (Photo by Erica Garman)

Each spring, Smart's Mill Middle School principal Eric Stewart treats his staff to a special after-school event, typically coinciding with Loudoun's Teacher Appreciation Week.

The first year, they went bowling. The next year was tea at Oatlands. Last year was a cook out … and this year was a top-secret field trip to Pump It Up in Leesburg, a destination most-often frequented by the elementary-aged-birthday-party population.

Stewart said he got the idea after taking his son to a birthday party there. Once the outing was planned, he kept the location a secret from all.

Pam Packard works up a sweat in the moonbounce. (Photo by Erica Garman)

"There were rumors we were going fishing," he said. "Someone asked me for a clue and I said, 'Arnold.'" Stewart's "Arnold" clue alludes to the Saturday Night Live spoof of Schwarzenegger-inspired body-builders—Hanz and Franz's: "Ve are goinck to pump (clap) you up!" Rumors then swirled of a golf outing (a la Arnold Palmer).

"Our art teacher guessed Pump It Up—but no one knew for sure," he said.

Once the Smart's Mill crowd arrived via school buses and entered the top-secret location, Pump It Up owner Pat Flynn helped make the event quite challenging—it wasn't to be just a bunch of grown-ups frolicking in a moon bounce (although that did take place).

Laura Tucker and Colleen Milligan crawl off the slide at Pump It Up. (Photo by Eric Stewart)

Groups of eight competed in a cut-throat scavenger hunt.

It was pure chaos as each team scrambled through the inflatables in search of items to scratch off their lists. Then there was an ultimate showdown of top scavenger-hunt-winning teams through an obstacle course, concluding with a pizza dinner for all.

Stewart told me he organizes these fun staff events to show his appreciation. "They run the school—they are the heart of the program," he said.