OVERCOMING OBSTACLES
Students hit course at Lake Avenue Elementary School
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Days before the Christopher Dailey Turkey Trot a couple blocks away, students Tuesday had the opportunity to run through an obstacle course at Lake Avenue Elementary School.
The Turkey Trot-themed event was a reward for students who have been well behaved since the beginning of the school year.
Children jogged in packs or raced as individuals in the brisk autumn weather Tuesday morning.
Jake Zanetti, a physical education teacher at Lake Avenue Elementary School, created the design, which featured tires, hurdles and hopscotch.
“I thought of let’s make it kind of like a Tough Mudder, as far as throwing in obstacles throughout, the corners just to make it a little more interesting for the kids to run through,” said Zanetti.
Each grade had about 10 minutes to run around the course.
“It’s going really well. The kids are really excited about doing it, more excited than I thought they’d be,” said Zanetti. “They’re running hard, working hard. They’re doing good. They’re having a lot of fun with it.”
The reward was part of the school’s effort at promoting the work of the Positive Behavior Intervention & Support Team.
Each school has a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support team, which aims to improve the climate of a building by placing emphasis on being proactive, preventative, positive, effective and efficient.
It teaches appropriate behaviors, reinforces those be-
haviors and recognizes students who are able to model those behaviors, according to the school district’s website.
Every school district has different reward incentives, but this was the first time Lake Avenue did a Turkey Trot in honor of Thanksgiving Thursday.