Being quarantined at home during this pandemic has been challenging for everyone. It can be stressful and isolating.  During the first few weeks school librarian, Lisa Koch was really missing her Lee community and all the things we do to build that community—pep rallys, sports games and social events.  Those rituals bring us together and allow us to celebrate together.

She also found herself feeling more stressed than normal and so was everyone else around her. She needed to find a way to cope with that change and some of her old coping strategies weren’t available anymore.  She couldn’t just go to the gym or go out with friends.  So her family, like many others, realized that staying active and being outside really helped them clear their heads and unwind. 

When her and Ms. Marquet, another member of the Lee Staff considered how to best help Lee students, families and staff during this time they thought about what worked for them.  How could they help everyone feel connected to others and relieve stress while still maintaining social distance.  A virtual 5k race was perfect—our Lancers and their families could  do something that is good for us (running and walking) and gets us moving while creating a shared community with our awesome Lancers!  And what’s nice about this virtual 5k is that you can do it once and see how it feels, or you can decide to up the challenge in whatever way works for you!  Mrs. Koch's family is trying for a 5k every day this May.  If they are successful, they will clock in over 90 miles this month.  And if they don’t make that goal, that’s ok too—they will have gotten moving, had fun together and end the month more active than they began.  So it’s still a win! 

The Lancer community has taken on this challenge and has been moving this month.  Check out the pictures below!   There is still plenty of time to participate.  Just use the hashtag #Lee5K 

RISE ABOVE, LANCER NATION!