By

Michelle Comsudi,   Summitt Elementary School

Play:

Make Your Case for Quality Physical Education

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation

Students at Summitt Elementary School in Austin ISD are participating in the all new Marathon Kids program this year! Students have been running during WOW (Workout for Wellness) time at school to build up their cardiovascular and muscular endurance! The goal is for each student to run 104.8 miles by the end of the school year. We have many students who have already completed their 2nd marathon and are beginning to run their 3rd. We thought it would be a fun idea to hold a running competition to see who had the endurance and stamina to run the fastest 1.3 mile cross country race around our campus. Each student in 4th and 5th grade received a jingle bell to wear on their shoes to motivate them during the run...we also had classes come out and cheer on our Eagle runners, and our top three girls and boys from each grade level were recognized. Each student did such a great job maintaining their pace during the entire race, and you could definitely tell that Marathon Kids has helped to improve the overall quality of physical education at our school. Our Fuel Up to Play 60 team is working on new Ramp Up for Recess ideas and we will be hosting a Family Fitness Night and a Fuel Up to Play 60 Bulletin Board Contest in the spring.

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

The main challenge is being able to motivate every single student to complete a mile run, but we have so many amazing students that helped push one another to keep going and finish the race!