Holy Family Catholic School in Clarkston, Washington, has joined the 100 Mile Club®. The 100 Mile Club® supports the school’s School-wide Learning Expectations in physical education of students. Goals of Holy Family Catholic School are to teach each student to be “a physical person who shows respect for the body and has an awareness of good health habits” and “has a positive attitude.”

The 100 Mile Club® challenges students and staff to walk/run 100 miles in a school year. Holy Family Catholic School received a grant from the Lewis-Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation, which has generously covered the costs of the program for the 2019-2020 school year.

Holy Family School is using a scanning system, and each participant has an identification card with their name and a barcode for scanning. This system allows for easy tracking of running/walking.

As students and staff run/walk, they earn prizes, which include a sticker at 10 miles, a T-shirt at 25 miles, 50-mile pencil, 75-mile wristband, 100-mile gold medal and year-end certificate. Lots of students have earned their 10-mile sticker, and many students have hit the 25-mile mark and received their T-shirt. Also, after every 10 miles, students receive a tennis shoe trinket for their lanyard.

Third-grade student Bellamy Leer who just earned her 25-mile T-shirt, states she “likes the prizes.” In addition, kindergartner Slade Shelden, who has already logged 80 miles, says: “I love running.” Principal Sharon Hunt said she has found the program to be a “positive addition,” and it “teaches students healthy lifestyle habits and how to goal set.” Sixth-grade teacher Sheri Gehring expressed how glad she is when students reach their goals and earn their prizes. “Watching the excitement of every kid as they reach their goal makes my heart happy,” Gehring said.