Cross-country skiing now available in Bonneville School District

Fourth graders in the Bonneville School District are about to start exercising in a different way.

Their teachers got training today on cross-country skiing. They will be teaching their students how to use their skis. The school district received a $7,000 grant from the Nordic Ski Patrol to buy skis for the kids. This adds to a previous grant, so now two sets of fourth graders can use them at one time. They will rotate between the eight schools participating.

It’s all part of an effort to get kids outside more during the winter.

“It’s so important,” Julie Abbott, D93 P.E. Coordinator, said. “It’s such a life skill for them to be moving, to be outside. There’s so many kids nowadays that are not outside, they’re on computers. And those are the kids, when we take them skiing, they love it. They’re excited about it. They’re getting off the couch and they’re able to move and have fun.”

The students will ski on the school playground, which will be groomed by the Idaho Falls Ski Club.