Fun Running

This has been such a long tradition at Trottier: the Fun Run. Every year, some time in May, the whole school gets together to participate in the Fun Run (oxymoron, for some). The trail consists of a mile loop around the school, through woods, on sidewalks, and three-quarters of the track. I ran this three times in middle school (once in each grade), and finally, in eighth grade I was the third girl to finish in the eighth grade. Those who don’t want to run the mile are given the choice to walk it instead.

Today’s hype is all about the Fun Run. Eighth grade cliques coordinate outfits, or even make shirts, and sixth graders show up in gym clothes. Everyone’s wearing their sneakers today, except the walkers. The school schedule is also different today. We see the classes in a different order (not seeing period 2 and 6 classes), and the Fun Run starts at 1. I’m staying the whole day today because I want to—that’s how fun the Fun Run is. Hahaha.

The one challenge is to keep the kids under control during classes. They are all really excited about the end of the day that they a little more energy than usual, especially the sixth graders who already get jumpy when I walk into their classroom. So today in Algebra I, we’re continuing polynomials, but of course, there are guys on one side of the room strategizing their race for the afternoon, and others encouraging me to run (I didn’t bring clothes though). The air in the classrooms was a little lighter today, although work also did get done. Polynomials are coming into fruition. 

My days at Trottier are getting better. The kids recognize me and respect me more, but I’m also getting to know them better and talk to them on a more personal level. I’m taking the guys through a warm up before the run and talking to them about how good Kevin Garnett is in the NBA playoffs. And all the different cliques of girls are talking to me now too. A lot of them comment on other people’s clothes, but they are a bit more serious in class and ask questions about the classwork. I’m even learning more about the two sixth graders taking Algebra I. One day, one of them brought in a wooden box (without a cover) looking like he just made it in a shop class and he was using it as his pencil case. He laughed when I teased him about it and asked where his other cool pencil case went (apparently it broke). And now they’re telling me about their time at Russian Math School and their summers in India. It’s really cool.