CATSKILL — Getting a classroom full of elementary school kids to focus on math equations for two hours isn’t an easy task. Put them in a swimming pool and things change in a hurry.

A 13-year-old from the Bronx became unconscious on July 1 after going for an afternoon dip in Peekamoose Blue Hole, a popular Catskills swimming area. The teen was neck-deep in the swimming hole for ...