Weekday mornings at 7:20 a.m. are not an active time for most people. More often it’s time to press the snooze button on the alarm again.
But three days a week, that’s when dozens of Lynndale Elementary students start running around the gym — voluntarily — before school. The free program, called Active Start, gives them a physical kick-off to their day, complete with fresh fruit.
But the draw is not necessarily the exercise, school staff say.
Painfully early on Friday morning, Jan. 16, students boomeranged with energy as they ran, jumped over stacked mats and screamed support for teammates in an obstacle course race.
Health is one reason the program started.
“Kids don’t always get the exercise they need,” said Johnna Stewart, the counselor who runs the program.
But health may not be the biggest draw.
“They like having that connection,” Stewart said. “You’ll see them walking in all groggy but there’s an excitement about hanging out. It’s a chance to know they are valued for being here.”
At Active Start, Stewart and parent Kerri St. Clair Ayers greet the children, get them riled up about obstacle courses, encourage them to go all the way on their sit ups and toss a Frisbee with them. Sometimes principal Dave Zwaschka drops in with a football and within moments is surrounded by kids.
Marathon Club is another popular activity that, despite the dubious draw of voluntary running, draws a regular crowd. Between 50 and 70 fifth- and sixth-graders show up Thursdays and Fridays to run one-half to two miles with teachers April Musselman and Cassie Ladoski. That’s about half the population of both classes.
The group is training for the Port Angeles marathon in May, though participation is optional. “I think it’s a fun thing for them to do,” said Ladoski. “A lot (of students) don’t have things to do after school.”
Studies show that when students feel more connected to school, they do better academically, Stewart said.
With that goal in mind, Lynndale has a plethora of programs for students and families. Among them: an after school program with clubs and activities taught by teachers, a game room at recess and community dinners for families.
Some of the programs are in partnership with the Edmonds Community Foundation, a local non profit that St. Clair Ayers heads up. Some run on grants, and some — like Active Start — run on volunteer steam.
School staff members want to expand their programs, but need more outside volunteers to do that.
“The things you could do if you had more adult bodies,” Stewart said. “There’s nothing so great as knowing a kid is excited you’re there.”
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