Tuolumne kids go running, jumping on the green

Kids bounced, clapped, side-stepped and otherwise celebrated on the green at Tuolumne Elementary, where St. Patrick’s Day got a Get Fit twist.

“Rather than go with parties with all the sweets and all that, we went a totally different direction,” said sixth-grade teacher Ron Boren, who organized the grassy field event for around 200 fifth- and sixth-graders under the hashtag #gogreengetfit.

“It was a lot of fun. It was super, super cool!” said Principal Heather Contreras.

Contreras and Boren teamed up for hand slaps while doing pushups, marking a successful finish with a fist bump.

The innovative pushups were one of seven stations set up for the event. Kids jumped on half-sphere rubber bosu balls, raced in place for the fast-feet football warmup, and did squats with 10-pound bell weights and rope exercises.

Get Fit Modesto trainer volunteers Nancy Turner and Diana Waterford brought the equipment and put the students through their paces with some fitness coaching. Both said they’d be back to give nutrition information and fitness tips to the students, said Boren, a gym member. Waterford’s aunt is also a Tuolumne teacher.

“It all worked out to be this nice community collaboration,” Boren said.

The day offered kids a healthy break from routine, he said. “We really do want to promote the district health and wellness initiative. We’re trying to make PE engaging.”

With the trial run, so to speak, of the new partnership with Get Fit, savoring the energy of the day, Boren said, “Today may be the birth of something much better.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Tuolumne kids go running, jumping on the green."