Bedford Hills Students Jump for Kids Heart Health

Squeals of delight rang out from the Bedford Hills Elementary School gym as kindergartners jumped with enthusiasm during the school’s annual participation in the Kids Heart Challenge.

The purpose of the challenge is to support students’ physical and mental well-being while encouraging heart-healthy physical activity and raising life-saving donations. Before their day of fun, students began raising money for the American Heart Association to help kids with “special hearts.”

Physical Education teacher Pat Aris said, “Our goal was to raise $10,000.” The donation period is not quite over, but the school has blown past that and raised nearly $14,000 so far.

“This is exciting,” physical education teacher Kevin Grayson said to students before they got started. “We have all three kindergarten classes together. Field Day is the only  other special day when this happens.”

With assistance from fourth-grade volunteers who were helping during their recess, kindergartners got to experience the event for the very first time.

“Watch me do this! I can jump so high!”

“I did so many jumps!”

“I like to rattle and roll.”

Fourth graders Anna Johannessen, Lucia Treimel, Camila Naranjo Alvarez, Brianna Mejia Recinos, Lena Shkreli and Dylan McConville kept the younger students on task, swung ropes and helped their younger peers and their phys ed teachers wherever it was needed.

“I’m not that good at jumping, but it’s the best day of my life!” Nate, a kindergartner, said as the event drew to a close.