Officials with the upper and lower elementary schools in Poplarville plan to get their students in shape and healthy via The Get Ready to Run program presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi. The program not only encourages a healthy lifestyle, but also will give monetary prizes to some participating schools to help improve their physical education programs.

Ryan Merritt, physical education teacher at Poplarville Upper Elementary, said their main job as educators is to help students succeed.

“This program promotes a healthy lifestyle, being active and exercise. Mississippi is always one of the lowest scoring states as far as obesity goes and anything we can do to promote a healthy lifestyle for our kids is a plus for us,” Merritt said.

The program will work hand in hand with both schools’ physical education programs to offer students activities and games that promote fitness.

The Get Ready to Run program is part of PRCC’s Wildcat Wellness Initiative funded by a $198,171 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, said Tara Rouse, chair of the health, physical education and recreation department at PRCC and director of the PRCC Wellness Center.

The program aims to teach children at a young age about the importance of health and fitness.

“The program introduces students to running, physical fitness and healthy lifestyle choices in a fun and rewarding way. Our goal is to assist kindergarteners to fifth-graders in building endurance and accomplishing long-term fitness goals and enhancing their self-esteem, while teaching them how to make health and fitness a regular part of their lives,” Rouse said.

The program runs for 10 weeks and started at the beginning of the second-half of the 2015-2016 school year, Rouse said.

The program kicked off Jan. 7 at the upper elementary, hosted by PRCC cheerleaders and staff from the PRCC Wellness Center, and today, the same celebration will be held at the lower elementary.

Many schools across Mississippi, including both Poplarville elementary schools, will have a chance to win money at the end of the program, depending on each respective school’s kindergarten to fifth-grade student enrollment and students’ participation in the program, Rouse said.

The following prizes are available to schools: $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second place, $1,000 for third place and $500 for the school that best depicts the program’s theme on a story board, according to a press release from Blue Cross Blue Shield.

The money will benefit the schools’ physical education programs, Rouse said.

Besides the possibility of winning money for the school, Poplarville Lower Elementary Principal Diane Herndon said the program will teach students how to live a healthier life.

“We’re excited to be partnered with the college in this program and we hope that the kids understand the educational benefits of exercise and making good healthy life choices,” Herndon said.

Students who complete the program will be eligible to participate in The Get Ready to Run Kids’ One-Mile Fun Run on April 9 at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park campus at no cost, Rouse said.