With music, laughter and a burst of multi-color madness at the end, Roanoke Avenue Elementary School held its first Roanoke Rockin’ Run last Saturday at the downtown elementary school.
About 40 students ran laps in the schoolyard, winning prizes for each lap. More than 300 kids participated in the event, purchasing bracelets that were sold by PTO members and the school’s student council.
The event was sponsored by the Roanoke PTO. Funds raised will purchase a new water fountain for the school that features spigot designed for refilling water bottles.
“The school is older and didn’t have a fountain with that feature and we wanted students to have access to that,” said Roanoke PTO treasurer and fundraising chairperson Amanda Moore.
The funds will also support an upcoming concert by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Brady Rymer and his Little Band That Could.
“Everybody was so excited for the Brady Rymer concert when we announced it at back-to-school night,” Moore said. The North Fork musician is a favorite among kids and parents alike.
The students’ excitement about the concert really amped up excitement for last week’s run, she said.
Roanoke Elementary School music teacher Roy Bucola has been introducing students to Rymer’s music, Moore said.
Participants celebrated with a “color blast” at the end of the run. Each runner got a packet of colored corn starch. The group opened and tossed the cornstarch into the air to create a multi-colored cloud that enveloped the kids, teachers and PTO members. The kids loved it, Moore said.
The PTO wanted to do an event that promoted healthy habits for the kids: exercise, drinking plenty of water and dancing, she said.
“We’d like to make it an annual event,” Moore said. The PTO is already thinking of ways to make it bigger. “Next year, we want to have a faculty lap and an alumni lap,” she said.
“It was a great way to start the new year.”
RiverheadLOCAL courtesy photos by Stephen Wirth
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