A little bit of YEEHAW…… 

That is what faculty and students of Mt. Olivet Elementary School were saying as Activate and Coalition staff along with volunteers invaded their school.  Dressed in cowboy hats and boots, staff and volunteers came to celebrate with the students as they received their third place Golden Sneaker award. 

Dr. Lewis, Principal of Mt. Olivet School, started the assembly by leading the students in a few cheers reminding them of the rewards that a healthy lifestyle can have on their lives.    W-A-L-K (Walk) and E-X-E-R-C-I-S-E (Exercise) were two of the cheers that the children happily spelled. 

Their excitement could be felt as everyone danced the “Hoedown Throwdown”.  Activate and Coalition staff and volunteers joined in and danced with the students to show their appreciation and to remind them being active is fun.

Mt. Olivet School took third place in IWALK with 100% participation, two other schools beat them by having the same amount of participation but more parents and volunteers in attendance which tipped the scales over 100% for the other two schools.  Students and faculty have vowed that next year they will take first place in the Golden Sneaker competition.

At Mt. Olivet, like many other rural locations in the County, walking to school is not feasible. So schools have created events that work for the barriers they experience at their locations.  At Mt. Olivet, the PE teacher partnered with the music teacher to get their students active in other ways.  They collaborated to promote healthy lifestyles through music and activity making the event fun! Students walked, danced, jumped rope and went through several obstacle courses as they kept up with the beats of music in the parking lot adjacent to the school.