Skyview, Curriculum schools tally miles walked

A U.S. map at Skyview Elementary has footprint stickers set on a route across America. By June, students and staff collectively hope to walk a distance equivalent to that between Spokane and Boston: about 2,801 miles. “We’re just in the outskirts of Minneapolis, Minnesota,” physical education teacher Shelly Engel said this week. “We’re assuming when the good weather hits, we’ll get to Boston before the end of the year, and then we’ll see how far we can get back.” Figuratively, of course.

Many teachers at both Skyview and adjoining Continuous Curriculum School are using pedometers as they walk to do hallway errands. Students have their own punch cards to count a mile around the playground field.

All of that activity gets counted toward the total mileage goal that equates to a walk across the country.

The Walk Across America program was started this year by Engel and Jerry Etchison, who also teaches P.E. classes at Skyview. They adopted the plan to encourage more physical activity, something Engel said struck home for staff members after a co-worker suffered a heart attack two years ago.

“It was a wake-up call for all of us,” Engel said. The walking program started among students, but then progress slowed as bad weather hit.

“That’s when teachers were encouraged to help bring up the total. Every two months or so, two teachers with the most miles can get little prizes.”

Engel and Etchison also started counting aerobic activities such as jogging that staff members do outside of school.

“The teachers started getting pretty competitive,” Engel added.

“We have a long hallway, and teachers were realizing that every time they have to go to the office, all these steps could add up. Pretty soon, everyone was getting pedometers.

“They realized that even when they couldn’t exercise, they were getting at least two miles in just walking in the hallway. It’s kind of a nice awareness.”

For other incentives, playground aides use a hole puncher in the shape of a heart on students’ mileage cards when the children walk three laps around the field. With completed cards, students get “toe tokens” – tiny plastic feet they can collect and tie onto shoelaces or backpacks.

Engel added that the school’s principal, Chiere Martyn, was the first to turn in her mileage and has done so every month.

The walking bug has spread enough around the school that Engel says she often asks, “Are you wearing your pedometer today?”

Baby food drive today

Horizon Middle School students will hold a baby food drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at two Albertsons stores: the Liberty Lake location and at 32nd and Highway 27. In tune with Valentine’s Day, the drive is called Hearts to Hearts.

“We are looking for baby food, formula, diapers, baby cereal, anything little ones need,” said teacher Margie Tibbits. “We’ll have $5 prepackaged bags people can purchase and hand to us as they walk out the door, or they can bring items.”

An early February collection at Horizon will add to the total.

Students had a black-light bingo night on Feb. 3 with an admission of 10 jars of baby food or $10. It raised 600 jars and $1,059 to purchase items toward food and layette supplies for the Spokane Valley Community Center.

All baby food will go to the Valley Food Bank.

Top spellers advance

Spokane Valley school-level spelling champions were announced this week as they move on to compete in the Valley Spelling Bee at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Bowdish Middle School.

The top finishers who qualified after competing at their schools include:

Bowdish Middle School – Miles Martin, eighth grade.

Centennial Middle School – Matthew Bauman, seventh grade.

East Valley Middle School – Sami Cruz, seventh grade.

Evergreen Middle School – Cameron Nemeth, seventh grade.

Gethsemane Lutheran School – Patrick Leavy, eighth grade.

Greenacres Middle School – Randi Wilson, eighth grade.

Horizon Middle School – Cindy Wu, eighth grade.

Mountain View Middle School – Melissa Kersh, sixth grade.

North Pines Middle School – Angela Meter, eighth grade.

Valley Christian School – Aaron Briggs, eighth grade.