The afternoon of Oct. 17 was a colorful, fun, and much anticipated day at HBRES - the afternoon of our school-wide walk-a-thon! It’s hard to believe that this was the 11th year we’ve held this FUN-draiser. Students, dressed in their class color, then spend 1.5 hours running and walking as many laps as they can around the “track” created in the grass behind the school.
There are so many reasons why our students and staff love the W-A-T. Some students love the competitive nature as they try for their “personal best” year to year or to win the award for the most laps completed. Others love having the opportunity to spend time outside together with their peers, chatting and laughing as they walk their laps. The students are able to hang with friends and family from other grades, and it’s always great to see older students walking with their younger siblings! There’s an undeniable feeling of community that day. Students also feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when they see the new items their teachers purchase for the classrooms with the W-A-T funds, knowing they played a major part in making that happen.
The track is ⅓ of a mile long, and with each lap the kids get a hole punched on their punch card. The kids love figuring out how many miles they’ve run and setting goals to get to the next mile. Each year, the kids impress us with their energy! This year, as a school, we ran just over 990 miles! Our top runners, Maeve Long and Cole Kaus, ran 25 laps each - that’s over 8 miles! They helped third grade earn the traveling trophy for running the most laps with an average of 13 laps per student.
Students ask friends and families to sponsor them through the miles they will complete and that money raised goes directly toward the HBRES teachers’ wishlists. Teachers have asked for toys, social emotional tools, seating options, manipulatives, books, and more. This year, students and area businesses helped us raise $6,930! We can’t wait to get our teachers and students the extras that make HBRES a great place to learn and be!
After the W-A-T, a school-wide assembly is held to award the student with the most miles, the students who raised the most money, and to raffle off TONS of fun prizes! Congratulations to our top earner, Austen Yaggie, who raised $300 this year! HBRES has been so fortunate to have incredible support for this event each year! We couldn’t do it without our community, families, and parent volunteers who punch cards, hand out snacks, and cheer on our runners.
We want to give a shoutout to the following businesses for their awesome support! You help make this event a success!
Jack and Gina’s BP
Hinckley Fresh Market
DeKane Equipment
Funway
Paisanos Pizza
Fran’s Cozy Kitchen
Casey’s
Tres Chic
Subway
Genoa Pizza
Get Pumped Up
Big Rock Cafe
HBR Youth Soccer League
Nelson Funeral Home
Altitude
Happy Hen House
Midwest Sports Plex
Twigs and Twine
Hometown Barber
Treater Right
Wehrli Customs
Lucky Dog
Good Times Grill
Schollmeyer Landscaping
Whispering Pines Reindeer Ranch
Soon, wishlist items will start arriving, and we can’t wait to do it again next year!
Written By: Manda Davis, HBR Speech-Language Pathologist