This school year the Wellness Department has implemented a new physical education program for the students, which includes a class called P.E. Leadership Training. This class helps students develop leadership traits through community involvement.

“The majority of the class is learning how to teach other students how to swim, how to play sports, how to do fitness, how to create lesson plans and pretty much training to be a TA (teacher’s assistant),” said Senior Megan Nugent.

A typical class might consist of a group of students teaching the rest of the class a game– the rules of how to play.

The class tries to promote fitness not just throughout the school but throughout the community as well.

Students put together a field day/relay event for the community called “Run for the Paws” that took place on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 3 to 6 p.m. at MHS track and stadium.

This year the leadership class planned on donating the money made from the event to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America as well as Mundelein’s Reach Rescue.

The event was called “Run For The Paws” because Reach Rescue brought puppies to the event that are up for adoption.

The event was a relay in which teams of six tried to run as many miles as they could in three hours.

There also were local vendors in the parking lot offering food, and parents with children could have had them participate in a children’s field day event run by the Leadership Training students.

Before the event, Stone said, “We put together a ton of different kids’ activities for them to do, so it’s fun for all ages. I hope people show up; we’ve done a lot of marketing by putting up flyers everywhere around Mundelein and surrounding towns like Vernon Hills, so I really hope we get a lot of people out there.”

This new addition to the Wellness Department has been receiving positive feedback because it offers students the chance to develop skills that will carry them through life.

“I hope it continues next year. It just depends on student interest. If the students are signing up for the class and they feel it’s beneficial to them, I would hope that our administration would know that we want what’s in the best interest of the students,” said Nancy Toland, Leadership Training teacher. “If they’re interested and they’re learning, it should continue.”