Riverside in Rockville Centre hosts Turkey Challenge

The pandemic has made life for schools especially difficult over the past two years as students have not been able to socialize as much, but Riverside Elementary has started a new tradition that parents and faculty said they hope can spread some joy and show the students a fun time.

The second annual Turkey Challenge saw students play at six stations — bowling, the hula hoop toss, turkey targets, an obstacle course, pin knockdown and the Turkey Trot race — with parents from the PTA showing the children how each station worked. The students also wore step counters, incentivizing them to keep moving around even when they weren’t participating, as more steps equaled more points toward their class’s average steps. The winning class will receive a turkey trophy to hold onto for the rest of the school year.

“It’s really an exciting opportunity for the students to come out and engage with one another in celebration of Thanksgiving,” Principal Erik Walter said. The Turkey Challenge replaced the Sharing Feast, which was an indoor dinner in the school cafeteria that became impossible to hold during the pandemic.

“The kids just absolutely love it,” Walter said. “We were talking about it all week long, and with all of the restraints they faced — sitting behind barriers last year, having recess in their masks — here they can engage with other friends and let loose while feeling safe and it puts a smile on everybody’s face.”

PTA member Natalie Gallagher, who has a secondgrader at the school, helped to organize the students and the activity stations. As a former gym teacher, Gallagher knew how to keep the students active and engaged. “This will be a tradition now and the kids absolutely love it,” Gallagher said.

Parents were also able to watch from the other side of the recess yard’s fence, cheering on their children throughout the day. Both Walter and Gallagher said they were excited to continue this tradition next year, hopefully in a more normal time for the students.