Lombard students get active with kite flying

Nearly 500 students ran around outside Madison Elementary School Monday in Lombard, flying kites with classmates and getting some exercise with help from the Healthy Lombard Foundation.

"The event went really well," said Healthy Lombard founder Jay Wojcik. "The kids had a great time and the weather was perfect."

The new Kite Day event was the idea of a teacher at the school, who decided it would be a fun end of the year activity. Wojcik said the school approached her about providing sponsorship for the event and she said it was a perfect fit for Healthy Lombard, which works to combat childhood obesity.

"If we could do this at more schools, we're more than happy to sponsor their kites," she said, adding that she hopes some of the kids will ask their parents to get them a kite to play with over the summer.

The event started with some exercises, including jumping jacks, jogging in place and toe touches. The kids then got into their "BFF" groups - a new initiative started by the school this year that partners groups of about 10 students with a school employee who mentors them - and took turns flying about 45 kites purchased by Healthy Lombard.

After flying the kites, the students formed the shape of a tree and posed for a photo to celebrate "growing a Madison mindset." That message, which encourages kids "to do their best and know mistakes are OK," has frequently been relayed to the BFF groups throughout the year, according to Tony Melton, a technology coach at the school.

Melton said some kites flew high when there were bursts of wind, but it was difficult to get others off the ground.

"That was part of the fun," he said, adding that by the end of the event everyone was running around, trying to get the kites in the air.

In addition, Melton said it was the first time some of the kindergarten through fifth grade students had ever flown a kite.

"It was awesome," he said. "The kids had an incredible time."