On Thursday, June 27, Georgian Bay Community School elementary students gathered in the gym to celebrate the end of their 2024–2025 school year. It was a bittersweet event, as students and teachers alike reminisced about all the good times the year had brought. The assembly provided an opportunity to recognize Grade 8 students moving on in their academic careers, as well as to celebrate a variety of student achievements.
One of the highlights was the completion of the Marafun.
During the months of April, May, and June, GBCS students were encouraged to take part in the Marafun—a non-competitive program that promotes physical activity by challenging kids to run or walk a total of 42 km, the distance of a marathon, over an eight-week period. Many students chose to participate in this initiative. As you can imagine, it’s not always easy to keep young children interested in running or walking laps during their morning recess.
Thankfully, local businesses in Meaford played a big role in the program’s success this year. Their generous donations allowed students to select a prize after reaching 20 laps of the track—an 8 km milestone. These rewards helped keep motivation high.
“Special thanks go out to the Meaford Factory Outlet, PomPom, Knights Home Hardware, E&R Bulk Bin, Tim Hortons, New Orleans Pizza, Dairy Queen, and The Crystal Dragon for their support. Your kind contributions truly inspired our students to stay active and keep moving,” said organizers.
Eighteen students successfully completed all 106 laps of the track, achieving the full 42 km marathon distance. Fifty-nine students reached the half-marathon goal by completing 53 laps.
