1 of 5

AES 3rd graders enjoyed PE Thursday as they participated in the 3rd annual Boosterthon glow fun run.

By CHRISTOPHER SMITH

Running laps at school is generally associated with discipline, but Thursday Andalusia Elementary School students voluntarily ran laps during physical education class to raise money for new playground equipment.

Students were asked to find sponsors to pledge monetary support for each lap that they ran around the indoor Boosterthon track. They ran up to 35 laps around the track that was decorated with glow sticks and lights.

Boosterthon is a hassle-free program that is set up to take the load off of teachers. They have their own pledge site set up to make it easier for parents to pledge, and it incorporates a character program to make sure that the kids learn something through the process. They serve up to 2,400 different elementary schools throughout the year.

“This fundraiser definitely wasn’t all about the money,” Dianne Chavers, a 3rd grade teacher at AES, said “It was more about character education and working together towards a common goal.”

Chaver’s class raised $213 towards the schoolwide $10K goal. The fundraiser was designed to teach students concentration and focus, self-awareness, respect, trustworthiness, creativity and being able to learn through your entire life. The theme of this year’s Boosterthon was CastleQuest.

The money that was raised will go to the school’s playground enhancement funds. AES recently purchased a new piece of equipment for the playground with funds from previous fun runs, which were matched by the school’s PTO.

The playground equipment is appropriate for ages 2 through 12, principal Alane Brunson said.

Anna Clark, a 3rd grade student, said, “It was really awesome, because it was a glow run.”

Chavers said that the team from Boosterthon had been at the school for the past two weeks, but the event kept getting delayed because of the snow.

“They were very organized and hospitable,” Chavers said “They would even do the morning announcement to get the kids all hyped up.”

More Andalusia Elementary

GALLERY: DAR Old Three Notch Chapter presents 2024 Youth Leadership award recipients

New machine adds excitement for reading at Andalusia Elementary

GALLERY: AES Book Character Parade

HARD WORK PAYS OFF