Jingling all the way down Main Street

The Edgartown School’s annual Jingle Bell Run tops off the school’s holiday season.

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The main lobby of Edgartown School today looked like Santa’s village at the North Pole: smells of cocoa filled the air as kids poured in with arms full of presents. Frosty and Santa and his reindeer walked the halls. The scene got even more hectic as the clock neared 8:30 am; then, it was time to run.

The school has been preparing itself for the annual Jingle Bell Run for months now. Physical education teachers Michelle Pikor and Channon Capra, who organized this year’s Jingle Bell Run, have also been organizing monthly runs. Since October, they’ve had a Pumpkin Run and a Turkey Trot, and expect to keep it going through the school year with runs like the Shamrock Run and Spring Fling Run.

Ms. Pikor said the runs are important because they help promote lifelong fitness and a healthy, active lifestyle. “We find that running together as a school creates a sense of community. It is the simple pleasure of being a part of this community that makes our students and faculty feel connected, and that helps create better health and mental well-being,” Ms. Pikor wrote in an email.

The Jingle Bell Run has gotten the entire school energized, and Ms. Pikor said the kids are really embracing the holiday spirit.

Kids, staff, and even parents started the run in front of the school, ran around the block, and finished by the Edgartown library. Santa gave kids high fives as they crossed the finish line. Laura Walton, the music teacher, played guitar and sang holiday songs for the kids after the run.

The annual Jingle Bell Run has been a tradition for so long, administrators and teachers couldn’t even pinpoint exactly how many years the school has been doing it, but Ms. Pikor said it’s been at least 25 to 30 years. She hopes the monthly runs will continue and become a new tradition.