NAHANT — Mother-daughter duo Eden Reiner and Charlotte Kuschnir were among a handful of parents and students gathered at Heritage Trail in Nahant bright and early Wednesday to partake in Johnson Elementary School’s annual Winter Walk and Roll to School Day.
Reiner said the walk, which was the district’s first school-wide event since 80 percent of students returned to in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic in September, was a rare and welcome opportunity to interact with other families outside of a classroom setting.
“It was really fun,” she said. “It was a cool event and it was nice to be able to walk on the trail.”
Winter Walk, an extension of the school’s weekly Walking Wednesdays, is just one of several efforts by the district to engage students in healthier habits while encouraging them to appreciate the natural beauty surrounding the idyllic island town.
Reiner’s daughter, 8-year-old Charlotte, an avid environmentalist and Johnson School third-grader, said she was happy for the opportunity to explore more of what Heritage Trail has to offer.
“I like discovering different things,” Charlotte said, adding that she enjoyed the freedom walking through the woods allowed. “It’s better because you don’t have to worry about cars.”
Her friend, Presley Martineau, 9, also gave the experience “two thumbs up.”
“I liked pretty much everything about it,” she said.
According to Principal Kevin Andrews, up to 90 percent of Johnson School students walk to class on any given day — a number that has previously landed the school a gold-level achievement designation from the state.
Classrooms with the highest student participation rates each week are awarded the Golden Shoe — a spray-painted size 14 pair of Nikes. On Wednesday, students who made the trek were personally congratulated by Selectman Joshua Antrim.
“We’re promoting a healthy choice, and I say that if we can’t do it in Nahant, who can?” Andrews said. “It’s a mile-wide island and there are a lot of safe routes to use.”
Last month, the school was awarded a $6,000 grant by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to support safe walking routes to school.
Dubbed the Signs and Lines program, the grant, which was written last year by PTO president Dr. Sherry Soleymani, provides funding for minor infrastructure work that can be completed in a short amount of time during the school year.
“The idea is to … actually see the results right away while making it safer for students and staff to get to school,” Andrews said.
He added the school next wants to encourage students to walk with their neighbors to school for extra classroom points as a way to encourage older students to mentor their younger counterparts.
“I think for so many reasons, it’s wonderful to have students walking together and building a community,” Andrews said. “It’s exciting. It’s nice to have an event that you can do during this time. With everything else not being able to happen, having a community event that isn’t so virtual is something to celebrate.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
