The fourth annual Dashing through the Rock took place on December 8th. Dashing through the Rock was created by Mrs. Mooney and Mrs. Cole as a way to get more students active and get people together.

The Wellness Club staff members work together every year to set it up.

Mrs. Mooney states, “The [Wellness Club] picks the crafts that we do, and then make the list of what we need to have those crafts done. They get face painters there. They talk to FCA to organize the obstacle course the day of the events. They’re helping man the race course, so they really do play a large role in it.”

Even though the Wellness Club does a bulk of the planning, “There are a lot of people that pitch in, whether it’s helping with concessions that morning, or it’s putting up signs for us. Even our district Wellness Committee does some PR stuff,” says Mrs. Mooney.

To run, it only cost five dollars and if you would like a t-shirt, it’s an extra 15 dollars. In the past, the money collected from this event was donated to the weekend food program, but this year the money is going towards the IUS bocce ball and track teams. Last year, between 20 and 30 people showed up to the event, but the Wellness Club is hoping for a better turn out this year.

The Wellness Club and staff offer other free activities inside the building for kids. Things like a scavenger hunt, face painting, arts and crafts, karaoke, and are more activities for children. Another event added for free to this year’s Dashing through the Rock is a Buddy Walk. This idea is adapted from the Special Olympics.

“The idea is to have students with disabilities walking alongside people without disabilities. We’re kind of expanding on that and hoping that we can get elementary students so you’d have high school students and elementary students, and families just walking together in support of each other,” explained Mrs. Mooney.

At the end of the run, the fastest runner gets a special shirt designed by a lucky student in the district.

“We actually do a contest open to grades K-12 in the district. Students can design a shirt, and if we pick their design for the T-shirt, they get a free t-shirt and can run the race for free.” explained Mooney when asked about the shirts.

Dashing through the Rock is a fun way to get the student body together and active. The Wellness club and staff urge everyone to bring their families and have some good old winter fun.