Hi, my name is Jace Verhaeghe. I’m a 5th grader at HBR Elementary School. Something cool that we do at the elementary school every year is our Walk A Thon. The purpose of the Walk A Thon has 2 components. The first is to bring us all together as a school community. The other reason is to raise money in order to be able to get some new items for our classes, such as new PE equipment.
This year’s Walk A Thon was really fun. New this year were some obstacles such as tires and hay bales to jump over. We had beautiful weather and 2 hours of running, walking and hanging out. We even got snacks to enjoy along the way. Our course is ⅓ of a mile, which means 3 laps is one mile. Last year, I ran just over 10 miles- 31 laps. But this year I really wanted to beat my record and be the top runner. I am happy to tell you that I ran 34 laps, which is almost a Half Marathon! It was a great feeling to know that not only did I beat my goal, but that I helped raise money for our classes. Plus, we all had a lot of fun in the process. We got to hang out with friends while running and encourage each other on the course. It was really neat to see each grade wearing their own color. We built a lot of school spirit and came together as a community. We loved having lots of parents come to help and cheer us on too. 
After the Walk A Thon, we had an all school assembly to announce top runners and prize winners. Many cool prizes were donated by local businesses. (Thank you to them!) We were very excited to find out that all together, we raised over $6,800! We know that will make our classrooms even better than before. While we know that fundraising is really helpful, what is even better about the Walk A Thon is the school spirit that we build on this special day. As a 5th grader, this was my last Walk A Thon. I am so happy to know that I’ll always remember this day when I beat my goal and become HBRES’s Top Runner of 2022. Go Royals!