Basketball, relay races, and dodgeball brought plenty of energy to a recent Rossville Elementary School field trip, but the lessons extended beyond the court. During a visit to Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, third graders practiced making healthy choices and counting change, turning a day at a sports facility into an opportunity to put classroom skills to work.
Students from Miss Brantley, Mrs. Hugo, and Mrs. Mackey classes rotated through four stations designed to keep them moving, thinking, and applying classroom skills in new settings.
Located at Grand Park in Westfield, Pacers Athletic Center features eight indoor courts within an 88,000-square-foot facility. The center hosts youth sports training, leagues, camps, and tournaments, giving students a setting to explore connections between athletics and everyday learning.
At the basketball relay station, students participated in races that brought movement and friendly competition into the day. A dodgeball station offered another chance to play actively with classmates.
The Healthy Choices station shifted the focus to personal well-being. Students practiced making healthier life choices, connecting the day’s physical activities with decisions they can make in their daily lives.
At the concessions station, students put their mathematics skills to work. They practiced making changes and solving real-world money problems, applying classroom learning to situations they might encounter when buying food or working at a concession stand.
Those activities reflect the center’s educational field-trip offerings, which connect physical education, health and wellness, and mathematics. Its concession activities introduce students to handling money in realistic situations, while its wellness programming encourages healthy choices through games.
School staff reported that students particularly enjoyed exploring the facility and moving through the different stations.
For Rossville’s third graders, the visit brought several subjects together in one experience. Basketball and dodgeball provided opportunities for movement, while the health and concessions stations demonstrated how classroom lessons apply beyond school.
The result was a field trip that paired the excitement of a sports facility with practical lessons in staying active, making healthy decisions, and using mathematics in everyday life.
