Students count steps of route to avoid construction

Students at Bordewich-Bray Elementary School are learning their school's addition is being built in steps - 4,730 per day, to be precise.

To accommodate the construction, students have to take an alternate route to the playground and walk across the street to attend music classes and the library.

"We wanted to have some sort of benefit from the extra walking and the kids to see it," said physical education teacher Linda Hurzel. "Our goal is to have the classrooms log how far they go each day then keep a running total."

Representatives from Fleet Feet and Pro Group Management donated pedometers and a student from each class wears one each day.

"We get to see how many miles we can walk," said Margarita Serna, 10. "It's just interesting."

Brenda Grigsby, an assistant fourth-grade teacher, was not expecting her students to log an average of approximately 21Ú2 miles per day.

"I didn't know we were walking so much," she said. "I was surprised."

Teachers were encouraged to choose a state capital with their students as a desired destination. The goal will be to walk as many miles as the number of miles to the chosen city.

Katrina Eckery's fifth-grade students are split between trying to walk to Boise or heading for Sacramento.

In addition to math and geography skills, Hurzel is hoping the students gain an appreciation for physical fitness.

"We're not nearly as active as we once were," she said. "We want kids to understand that walking is a great lifetime habit."

But Britney Tucker, 10, would rather be at recess.

"It's kind of boring because now we have to walk so long to get to recess," she said. "It takes us like five minutes to walk out there and five minutes to walk back. Recess is only 15 minutes long so we only get like five minutes to play."

Third-grader Cody Reno has a different perspective.

"You get exercise and maybe have fun," he said.

Students will log their steps until the addition is complete in April.