By

LeAnn Bellos,   Chester Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Community Involvement, Physical Activity Participation,  Student Leadership

At Chester Elementary School, we make healthy eating and regular exercise a priority. Every Friday (weather permitting) we have run club (100 Mile Club) after school. Staff, students, former students and parent volunteers meet on our school field for a fun afternoon of running! Children from grades Kindergarten through 6th grade track their miles to reach 100 miles by the end of the school year. It's so nice to see kids and parents working together toward a healthy goal!

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Parents come to "guard the exits" and cheer students on as the children run to reach their goals.

How did you accomplish your goals?

Children stay after school on Fridays to run together as a group but also accumulate miles at home during the week and on the weekends. Parents keep track of those miles and email them in to the school.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

This is a year-long program. We only meet weather permitting, but, if needed, we add in days toward the end of the school year. Also, as mentioned earlier, children can run/walk on the weekends to add to their mileage.