Track club

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A couple of running enthusiast parents, along with the physical education teachers, started a track club at Stewart Elementary.  Following are the steps to implement:

1. Get buy in from Principal and ask PE teachers for help.  You will also need lots of parent volunteers for this one!  Remember to remind the parents that they are encouraged to run/walk laps too - so they can get in their exercise while they are volunteering.

2. Create registration form.  We had t-shirts made and asked for a donation to cover the cost of the shirts as well as prizes.  We allowed all grades to participate, but Kindergarten students must have a parent present.

3. Order prizes - we used necklaces with "foot" charms that the students could add as they met their goals.

4. Create your organization system to track student laps. 

5. Get started!  Each time a student runs a lap, mark their hands with a sharpee.  At the end of the day, send the kids to a parent volunteer to have their laps added to the master list.  Once kids meet a set number of laps, give them a prize (we gave the necklace and one foot the first time a child ran/walked 7 laps, then a new foot with each additional set of 7 laps). 

Remember that the weather can be an issue!  Let the parents know to call the school if it looks like rain - be sure you notify the school receptionist if track club is on or off.

At the end of the year, we had a party to celebrate our success - trophies were awarded to the top 3 finishers in each grade.