BOWDOIN

Combining fun winter activities with the spirit of the upcoming Olympic games, Bowdoin Central School recently hosted its first-ever Winter Carnival.

A celebration of the completion of the inaugural WinterKids Winter Games competition, Bowdoin students in kindergarten through fifth grade took part in a combination of outdoor and indoor activities during the day. WinterKids is a Maine nonprofit organization designed to help children develop healthy habits through outdoor, winter activities.

Principal Ryan Keith and his staff put together a series of games, including an obstacle course, snow soccer and a never-ending luge. Much like the Olympic games, the day included an opening and closing ceremony.

The school was selected as Sagadahoc

County’s representative in the WinterKids games, and Keith is grateful for the support at his school.

“The community is so supportive,” he said. “We have at least 15 parents here now volunteering for the event.”

Keith is in his third year as the principal at Bowdoin Central School. He praised the school’s efforts to get kids outside and active. It ties into the WinterKids program, which awards points for students that take part in outdoor winter activity and make healthy choices. Each week had a different focus, such as having 60 minutes of activity a day and a healthy eating week.

As part of the winter carnival, each class picked a different country to represent, like the Olympics.

Keith believes the WinterKids experience has been a positive one for his school.

“We would do it every year if we could, but we understand another school needs to be given the chance to represent the county,” he said.

The top three schools receive a cash prize from WinterKids. While Keith’s school is not currently in the running for a top spot, he is proud of how many students participated in the event. He said about 92 percent of his students participated in the contest and logged their activity.

The first place school will receive $5,000. Second place is awarded $3,000, while third wins $1,500. A school from each county was chosen to compete. A leaderboard is available on the WinterKids website, at winterkids.org.