By Monica Petrova, Special to the Independent
El Morro Elementary’s jog-a-thon, one of the largest PTA fundraisers, is a day filled with dancing and running laps in the school yard and enjoying some well deserved ice cream at the race’s end.
It was held on Friday, March 16, and all classes, from kindergarten through fifth grade, participated. And, yes, I wanted to be kid again.
We still don’t know the total students managed to raise last Friday, but everyone is optimistic for a great number.
The day started early as students, parents and faculty gathered in the school yard. Kids were restless with anticipation to run with their fellow classmates. Parents were fully equipped with cameras, purses, backpacks, venti cups of coffee and safety pins to attach lap cards to the kids’ shirts.
At the “warm-up” station, PTA volunteers Trish Rocha, Kelly Boyd and Frana Sadler took the kids through various exercises. Most followed instruction diligently while others made their own moves and went with the rhythm of songs by popular artists. DJ Louie Ochoa kept the energy high. Ultimately, everyone was well warmed up and ready for the run.
As the kids took over the track, some parents and faculty joined them, while the rest stood on the sidelines cheering, tending to the water station table and helping with lap count checks. Some ran like the wind, some paced themselves, and others walked. You didn’t want to get caught in the middle as some parents discovered while trying to snap pictures. There were a few falls and spills along the course but nothing stopped those tough little athletes.
They celebrated the race’s completion with ice cream provided by Trader Joe’s and volunteers Francia and Nancy, who seemed to have as much fun giving it away as the kids were enjoying it.
School was to resume for each grade after the completion of their race, but I know that if it were me, I could not have focused in class with all that excitement going on outside.
