A lucky class of students at Edgecumbe Primary School has been gifted 21 pairs of Asics sneakers.

Teacher of Kiwi 4 Janesta Bester signed her class up for the Young & Healthy programme alongside other teachers in the school.

“We thought it would be great for fitness last term, to encourage drinking water and running around,” she said.

The programme provided a virtual challenge, where students could enter their steps from their pedometers and see their class avatar moving along a digital route.

“It was a great visualiser, and at the end of the term we sent in a class photo with our pedometers.”

When their class was drawn as the winner of the sports shoes prize, the students turned their success into a fun maths challenge.

“We had to find the sizes for everyone, so we turned it into a measurement activity where they all measured their own feet or their buddy’s feet, it connected really well to maths,” Mrs Bester said.

Young & Healthy Charitable Trust founder Kim Harvey, along with two Zespri representatives, visited Edgecumbe Primary School last week to deliver the shoes and “lots of kiwifruit” to the class.

They ran a series of outdoor activities with students throughout the afternoon, so they could wear in their new shoes, donated by Asics.

“We provide a five-week digital programme every year. We want to provide a fun and engaging experience, using a bit of technology to get kids moving, drinking water and sleeping properly.

“We want to build healthy habits in kids, to prevent bad habits,” she said.

“It’s always nice to come out and see the kids active, and to hear they’re still keeping up these habits.”