Wildwood Students Run for Prized “Toe Tokens”

By: Melissa Lowrie

At a time when many schools across the nation are scaling back on physical education, Wildwood Christian Academy students are wearing out their running shoes! Physical Education teacher Kim Kinne-Ryan started a new program last fall to encourage her students to run…. and run a lot. For every five miles a student runs, they are awarded a brightly colored “Toe Token” that can be worn proudly on a necklace. At this point in the year, some students have as many as six tokens, symbolizing thirty miles! And it’s not just during PE when these kids are running. Some students run during their recess time or after school to rack up the miles. If students enter a local race, those miles count towards their total as well. 

Running isn’t the only activity for Wildwood students during PE. Coach Ryan introduces fundamentals of many sports, including: basketball, volleyball, badminton, hockey, tennis, soccer and baseball. The classics are there as well, with Dodgeball, jump roping, Capture the Flag and good old-fashioned hula-hooping.

Coach Ryan states, “Physical Education is a life-time course - if you have your health, you have everything!” This enthusiasm for sports and good health carries into her classes at Wildwood. The students look forward to PE, and all Coach Ryan has in store… including laps for Toe-Tokens!