Students at Eastern Elementary School in Joannie Kellum’s physical education class have been learning about the Olympics in conjunction with the 2014 Winter Olympics held in Sochi, Russia. Children were introduced to the Olympic games, an event in which athletes from all over the world meet every four years for a friendly competition to see who is the very best in their sport. They learned that the Winter Games involve sports that are done on ice or snow, such as, ice hockey, bobsledding, snowboarding, skiing, curling, figure skating, luge, skeleton and speed skating and that the athletes must be physically fit.

Students also kept a daily tally of the number of medals the USA won: nine gold, seven silver and 12 bronze, for a total of 28 medals. There was an “Olympic Wall” in the hall for all to see. They were all excited to discover that a former student at Eastern Elementary, Joey Cheek, was a speed skater in the 2006 Winter Olympics and won a gold and a silver medal. Students are looking forward to the next Olympic games, the 2016 Summer Olympics, in Brazil. Kindergarteners and first graders were challenged to “Go for the Gold” in school, sports and at home by doing their best.