WESTBOROUGH – It may not be Beijing. But Fales Elementary School in Westborough has recently been busy holding its own Winter Olympics.
Physical Education teacher Matt Travis said the teachers began holding Olympics-themed events for their students during the last Winter Olympics in 2018.
The staff came up with that idea while brainstorming ways to get students excited about the games. In that process, Travis said, they discussed ways to bring Olympic events into a school setting to help students get a sense of how “epically amazing the Olympics are.”
“When you’re a kid, you watch the Olympics, but I don’t think you grasp the true amazingness of what it takes to be an Olympic athlete,” Travis told the Community Advocate.
This year, Fales students competed in a number of abbreviated events including speed skating, curling and bobsledding.
“They went fantastic,” Travis said. “I was so impressed with how the kids did. They really enjoyed it, as well.
“They all worked super hard,” he continued. “You could feel the beauty of the cooperation and competition mixing together. They just had fun — that’s the main goal.”
Competitions continued on Feb. 14, when a group of first graders competed in that bobsledding event.
The class was divided into four teams. One or two students sat on top of a pile of mats on wheels while their teammates pushed them around a track inside the Fales gym. Groups competed to see which class could complete five laps of the track the fastest without bumping into each other.
“The main goal here is to help the kids learn how to cooperate with each other,” Travis said.
These activities now take place in the brand new Fales school, which opened late last year.
New facilities, Travis said, have helped take these activities to the next level.
“I feel grateful every day we come into the school,” Travis said.
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