The 10-week, after-school program is led by volunteer coaches, teachers Mrs. Michele Hetrich and Mrs. Shauna Easteadt, and school nurse Mrs. Amy Kern.
Each session begins with a classroom-based lesson that encourages positive emotional, social, mental, and physical development. The girls explore and discuss their thoughts and feelings around experiences and challenges that girls their age face.
For one meeting, the girls discussed beauty from an internal and external concept.
The girls were asked to share things that they thought were beautiful on the outside. After giving it some thought, their answers ranged from flowers and the Earth to a person’s hair and eyes. The students were also asked to give examples of how you know if someone is beautiful on the inside; their answers included kindness, love, and honesty.
After their classroom lesson, it is off to the gym for stretching and then outside for laps combined with another activity tied to the theme of the day.
Four-year participant Hailey Schonour really likes Girls on the Run. “I get to meet new friends,” she says.