Benedicta prepares to hold annual ski day

BENEDICTA – Pupils will be able to showcase how they’re staying the course toward a healthy future this month when they take part in the third annual Benedicta Fun Cross-Country Ski Day.

The Benedicta Elementary School will host the event on Saturday, Feb. 19. All activities will be held on the school’s grounds and surrounding trails. The occasion is free and open to the public.

The popular winter affair is a collaborative effort meant to hammer home the benefits of lifelong wellness to children and adults. More than 160 people took part in the ski day last year. This month’s event is being held in partnership with the Maine Winter Sports Center, which provides equipment for use during the day, and the Maine Nutrition Network, which serves healthful snacks to the crowd. Participants may take part in ski games and races. Instructional clinics also will be offered by Maine Winter Sports Center staff.

Numerous area stores have donated supplies and prizes for race winners.

Skiing and other outdoor winter adventures are nothing new to the students at Benedicta. In 2001, staff at the pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade school integrated a cross-country ski program into the curriculum. Four years later, the program continues to grow. A host of equipment has been lent to the school or purchased through grants and is available for use by pupils and their families. Today, many students take to the cross-country trails during recess and physical education classes.

The school recently received a $1,000 grant that will help it to expand its program.

It will be an especially poignant event this year for a school that was slated to close its doors for good in June. The state Department of Education had planned to shut down the facility, citing the declining number of pupils as a major reason for the decision.

Maine Department of Education Commissioner Susan Gendron announced last December that she had changed her mind, however, after Herculean opposition from a number of residents. Parents formed a collective called the Educating Kids Locally Support Group and lobbied representatives, senators and education officials to keep the school open.

Most of those letters and speeches praised the virtues of Benedicta’s thriving ski program.

This year’s event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Benedicta Elementary School.