By Gary Lloyd
Paine Primary and Paine Intermediate schools are hosting a Boosterthon Fun Run event Thursday and Friday
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The primary school will host it Thursday, and the intermediate school will host its run Friday. The primary school’s fun run will be from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. today. On Friday, the intermediate school’s fifth-graders will participate at 9 a.m., fourth-graders at 10:30 a.m. and third-graders at 1 p.m.
The schools’ participation is part of a nine-day fitness, leadership and character experience that is revamping school fundraising by moving away from products and instead implementing a student-focused program.
This fall, Boosterthon’s more than 150 team members will be in classrooms every day modeling the way for positive attitudes and healthy choices – character traits that will make an impression over the lifetime of students. This year, Boosterthon will serve nearly 500,000 students in schools across America.
Boosterthon’s new character theme, Highway USA, shows students how to be leaders instead of followers, and friends instead of bullies, through teaching them the importance of making good choices.
Students also benefit from professional grade music videos, a 50,000-word chapter book and “Boost Fit,” a two-minute fitness lesson given during morning announcements. They will participate in daily “Choice Challenges” while learning from examples set by “Highway Heroes,” influential historical leaders whose positive choices changed the world.
In addition to classroom character lessons, Boosterthon will be encouraging students to give back through its “Pass It Forward” initiative. For every student who reaches the giveback reward level, the 1-for-1 program will give the student and a child at a local hospital a basketball hoop for their bedroom or hospital room. The hoops will be delivered later this spring.
The program culminates in the fun run event, in which students are invited to run laps together (for which they have gathered pledges). The run is a high energy and highly interactive community event as parents, educators, students and Boosterthon team members celebrate the students’ accomplishments throughout the program and reiterate character themes from throughout the week.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.