Vauxhall elementary school will be getting into the Olympic spirit this fall. A planned program starting in the new school year, called the VES Cross-Canada Olympic Tour, will see students doing a half-hour community walk every Friday morning in anticipation of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “We’re going to tie it in to the Olympics, and it’s to promote daily physical activity,” said project co-ordinator Tammy Reiling. “What we’re hoping is that family members and community members will come out and join us. We’re going to start at the school, finish at the school, and we’re going to hopefully try to make a path that goes through town, as opposed to just walking around our playground.” Reiling is in the process of applying for a provincial Eat Well, Play Hard School and Community grant to help out with the initiative. Last week, town council voted to support VES’s grant application, which will allow the school to apply for up to $5,000 now that they have secured a supporting partner. Reiling explained how the program will work. Students and citizens will walk a certain distance in the community each Friday morning, tentatively from 11:15-11:45 a.m., and this will be tallied to correspond to a certain distance across the nation. |