Santa Clara School in St James is using pre-class exercise to help students learn about the importance of staying physically active, and to enhance learning throughout the day. 

For the past few years the school has been hosting a running club, utilising the Active4Me Run Club app to engage students and their families in the initiative. 

Students have the opportunity to run or walk laps of the school’s oval for 20 minutes before the start of the school day twice a week and keep track of their activity with individual QR codes that they scan with the app on iPads each lap. 

The app keeps track of number of laps, lap times and distance covered, and for every three laps run by a parent, sibling or guardian, students receive one extra lap. 

Prizes are given at the end of each term and at the end of the year for the most kilometres run or walked. 

Teachers at the school have observed their students seeming more settled and focused after running club, and more likely to add their input to class discussions, while students have told staff that they feel happy and relaxed starting their first class for the day after their laps. 

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