How this event helped one Gardner school hit its stride
GARDNER — Elm Street School recently held its first-ever Turkey Trot to promote healthy outdoor activity as the entire second grade ran laps around the school’s playground.
Elm Street School second-grade teacher Ashley Chicoine said the school’s focus for the entire month of November revolved around the history of Thanksgiving by understanding and acknowledging the different cultures that come together, harvest blessings and appreciate the time with family members.
“So [the school] decided that being healthy is a big part right now with everything that has been going on and that this will be a good way to kind of blend a new tradition. The students created turkey hats and turkey lap counters that they took with them on the run around the playground,” Chicoine said.
Biggest event since the pandemic
The idea to host this event came from one of the second-graders, who mentioned that they were going to watch a friend run in the Gardner Turkey Trot.
“Then it came with one of our teachers, and they said, ‘Well, I’ll dress up like a turkey,’ and then it kind of went from there,” said Chicoine.
She explained that the planning process for the event went by really quick as both teachers and staff members were very supportive of the idea.
“We didn’t need a lot of resources to do it. It was more of who is doing what, and we put the plan together within a week and went for it,” Chicoine said.
The Turkey Trot, which kicked off at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 24, was the biggest event that the school has done since the COVID-19 pandemic hit — it included all eight second-grade classrooms.
Chicoine said that the second-graders days prior were coloring turkey hats to be worn during the event.
“They loved being able to decorate their own feathers and all of that stuff. So, they were really excited to do this,” she said.
Working toward their goal
Aside from the Turkey Trot, Elm Street School has been doing all sorts of activities for the whole month of November to align with the goals that they hope to achieve, according to Chicoine.
“We’ve been doing different things in different classrooms such as reading different stories, answering [Thanksgiving-related] questions and book shopping,” she said.
Chicoine added that one of the initiatives of hosting the Turkey Trot was to expose the students to the experience that they “missed out on” during the pandemic.
“It’s been a hard two years for them,” she said. “We’re trying to bring back activities for them to do in a way that is safe.”
Many elementary school students have struggled in learning for the past two years due to COVID-19, especially because the heavy usage of face masks has hindered one of the most crucial elements of learning at a young age: facial expressions.
“It’s absolutely been a deficit for us to teach [social] skills in lower elementary, especially pre-K, K, first and second grade. It’s a lot of learning on how to be social,” said Chicoine. “We had a lot of obstacles to overcome to still give [the students normal experiences] but still maintain proper safety and make sure everybody is staying safe.”
Although the school has come up with alternative and more creative ways to provide students with a normal elementary school experience, it is still “a little bit different” and not as wholesome, according to Chicoine.
Needless, Chicoine is grateful for having “awesome” parents and teachers who are on the second-grade team.
“They always ask if we need anything, such as supplies, or if there is anything that they can do. They’re very understanding of where the students are at,” she said.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Elm Street School in Gardner hosts its first-ever Turkey Trot
