Local girls participate in 5K race

NEWTON — Girls in seventh and eighth grade recently ran a 5K race at the Sussex County Fairgrounds as the culminating event in the popular Girls on the Run program which was offered as part of the Project Launch Newton afterschool program.

In addition to running, the Girls on the Run curriculum encompassed age-appropriate issues such as social media, technology and bullying. Girls participated in the program three days a week for approximately eight weeks.

Staff member Shannon Gill Williams coached the participants. She said that although running was the primary activity, the girls received much more from the program than just a workout.

“Throughout the program we would discuss various topics about issues typically faced by middles school girls," she said. "Each lesson included a workout to help us train for the 5K race. Race day was the culminating event at the end of the program for the girls to celebrate all the hard work they had been doing. We are hoping to run another program in the spring with the fifth and sixth grade girls.”

The Girls on the Run program will take a break during the winter months and start up again in the spring. Interested students must be enrolled in the Project Launch Newton after-school program at the Halsted Middle School in order to participate.

Project Launch Newton is an enrichment program offered to children in grades four through eight who reside in the Newton School District. Children participate in academic enrichment, creative pursuits, fitness and physical education, health and nutrition activities designed around a Science, Integration of Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) theme.

For more information about the Project Launch Newton program visit www.projectlaunchnewton.org.