Welcomed by pristine conditions for Friday’s 23rd annual Rod’s Trod fundraiser event, Rod Kelley Elementary School students, faculty and family members walked, jogged, ran — and even crawled — their way around the quarter-mile circuit, helping to raise money for the northwest elementary school.
“Every student has the opportunity to walk, and all the staff as well,” said principal Luis Carrillo, who estimated more than 800 participated in one of the school’s biggest fundraisers that brings in more than $10,000 in proceeds. “It’s more of a family and community event.”
It means even more to the students of Rod Kelley, who wore electronic ankle straps that record each completed lap. Sure, there was the incentive of prizes given to the top contestants in each grade level; for each class total; and for total money raised by an individual and classroom. But there were personal goals as well, with students receiving awards for reaching the 20-lap club or the 30-lap club.
For 10-year-old Hayden Tankersley, from Mrs. Kim Boone’s fifth-grade class, the goal was “to do at least 32” because “each year I’ve done 29 or 28, so I was trying to bump it up and do a little bit more, and there’s awards,” he said.
Mrs. Boone, who sported a black fabric mustache, helped her class come up with their own event slogan that stated: “I Must-Ache You A Question, Where Will You Trod?”
Across the hall in Mrs. Julie Pretti’s fifth grade class, students’ objective was clear — complete more laps than their teacher. It was no easy task, being as how Pretti is a four-time member of the 30-lap club and former top teacher runner award-winner.
Edward Aparicio, 10, a student of Mrs. Pretti, did not stop moving through the entire three-hour time frame. He said he battled exhaustion and wanted to rest “sometimes because I was tired” but kept on going.
“I don’t know how many I did. I didn’t keep track,” said Aparicio, who was in it “just to have fun.”
The fun began long before Friday’s Rod’s Trod and the carnival that follows. Most participants wore Rod’s Trod T-shirts, which were designed by the winners of the Rod Kelley design contest. The theme for the event was the series of classic children’s books by Dr. Seuss.
Jonathan Kim, 11, known as “Shosh” to his classmates, drew the “Cat in the Hat,” which was used as part of the 23rd annual T-shirt design that included several of the students’ creations.
“I love art and I take art classes,” Kim said.
Laura Sanchez, Kim’s classmate in Mrs. Boone’s room, also won a design award for her artistic talent in drawing characters from Dr. Seuss’s “1 Fish, 2 Fish” tale.
“I love art, too,” Sanchez said. “I did my last lap at Rod Kelley because this is my last year here. But I’m still going to come next year.”
Each year, Rod Kelley alumni are welcomed back to campus for the annual event, which was originally called Rod’s Trod for Sod, as Principal Carrillo explained. When the school — which has a beautiful courtyard lunch area with several trees and grass areas — was first built in 1987, “it was all dirt” with no trees and no irrigation. Carrillo said the Rod Kelley community raised funds to install irrigation and make the campus what it is today.
Today, “the most important thing is the physical fitness aspect,” Carrillo said.
And that is something not only the students and faculty have embraced but also the parents, some dripping with sweat as they completed lap after lap and others just cheering on their children from the sidelines of the course, which wraps around Sunshine Park in the rear of the school.
“I think it went really well,” said Christine West, president of the home and school club at Rod Kelley. She also coordinated the event for about four months leading up to this week.
“Everything came together,” she smiled.
Parents from the English Language Advisory Committee cooking up some homemade tacos and tamales as part of the fundraising efforts. After the Trod, students went back to their classes to rest up before being released to their parents to enjoy the tasty treats and the school carnival.
“I love Rod’s Trod,” bellowed 11-year-old Josiah Lopez as he sat at his desk in Mrs. Boone’s class.
That sentiment was shared amongst all those involved in Friday’s festivities.
