The first grader provided Mettawee physical education teacher Janna Webb with just the feedback she was hoping for. “Ms Webb, I was really nervous at first, but I got the hang of quickly and I did it!"
“It” was cross country skiing, which is now an option on winter days at Mettawee. A grant from the Nordic Rocks Program sponsored by the New England Nordic Skiing Association (NENSA) gave the school 25 pairs of country skis. The new equipment arrived over the holiday and all the kids were able to start fresh in January.
Webb started the application early in 2024. She backed up her request with data that revealed that only 10% of Mettawee students had been on cross country skis.
“Just think of it,” says Webb. “For over 90 percent of our kids this is a whole new experience and everyone can take advantage of this opportunity for as long as they attend Mettawee. I’m dreaming that many will continue to ski in the years ahead.”
The grant from Nordic Rocks comes with support to help implement the program. In addition to the skis, state-of the-art bindings make participation easy. They are designed to accommodate any snow boot - special cross country ski boots are not needed. Nordic Rocks also supplied brochures and videos to help train both staff and students.
“One advantage of the program is that we can do a lot of the training indoors,” says Webb. “The kids learn how to fit their boots into the bindings and practice some fundamental skills, like learning how to fall and get back up by themselves. When the snow conditions are right, we’re all ready to go directly outside.”
Mettawee may be an almost perfect location for cross country skiing. The soccer fields provide a vast area of level ground to practice. The adjacent 140 acres of land operated by Merck Forest and Farmland, meanwhile, offers a more challenging terrain for the students to aim for.
One of the most important benefits of this program is the development of self confidence. Building children's confidence encourages them to try new things, develop social and emotional learning skills and tackle new tasks.
The evidence may be in already. One student fell, but got back up on his own. It happened again and again, but eventually he got the knack. “I can do this!” he said, “I’m good at it!”
(Photo above: Learning to fall and get back up again is all part of the cross country program at Mettawee.)
Cross country skiing without poles is safer and it's the preferred method at Mettawee.
These two Mettawee students head off on skiing trek on the school grounds.