With around half the student body counting themselves as members, Patrick Hamilton’s lunch hour “walking club” is an unquestionable success.

However, the school’s makeshift walking path around the school grounds may receive a massive upgrade.

The elementary school recently received a $1,000 grant from Fuel Up to Play 60, a program founded by the National Dairy Council and the NFL to promote nutrition and physical activity in school. The funds will be allocated to the school’s project to update its existing trail to all-weather track, suitable for walking in rain and other adverse weather conditions.

The current walking path, which totals sixth-tenths of a mile in length, is marked out on the lawns surrounding the building. Teachers helping out with the walking club are required to take mark out the boundaries using cans of spray paint, said Principal Heather Nash.

“We have a hard time keeping kids on the path, because we often don’t remember where the path ends ourselves,” Nash said.

While students are normally allowed to walk the path every lunch period, poor weather conditions like rain or snow force teachers to keep kids off the trail for the day.

To solve these issues, Nash and other Patrick Hamilton staff and volunteers have worked with PTA President Leslie Malin, owner of MTL Lawn Services, to design a permanent track for students to use during their lunchtime jaunts.

“We started to have those conversations last year,” Nash said. “We wanted to have something that we didn’t have to paint every few weeks.”

Earlier this year, Libby Alward, a registered dietitian working with Patrick Hamilton though the Play 60 program, secured the grant funding for the school. Nash is currently working with the PTA to secure the additional $4,000 needed to start construction on the project.

The walking club started at Patrick Hamilton around four years, allowing students from all grades to chance to get in a little exercise outside of recess, Nash said.

“We did it because kids like to chit chat with one another, so we wanted to give them something to do while they are socializing,” she said.

Students are rewarded for hitting certain milestones, earning tokens for every five miles they walk. They also receive a special prize for reaching 26.2 miles walked, the distance of a standard marathon.

“Some of our students have a quite a few tokens on their necklaces and bracelets,” Nash said.

Nash is hoping that the school can raise the additional funds for the track within the next three years, she said. Since the new path would be part of the school’s community playground, it would be able to be enjoyed by others when school is not in session, she said.

“We think it will make the playground even better for visitors,” Nash said. “The walking path would give parents and older children something to do while their children or siblings are using the equipment.”

While the actual installation may still not take place for many months, students are already buzzing about it, Nash said.

“The students are really excited about the new path,” Nash said. “Every time I’m out there walking with them, I hear someone say ‘this is where the new path will go!’”