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Linda Tharp (right), visited the Newton Rotary Club on November 5 to talk about the Strong Girls program at Newton Elementary School. Tharp is a teacher and has experience coaching cross-country, but has also volunteered a lot of time to develop Strong Girls, a program of running and personal development for 5th- and 6th-graders. They have had about 50 girls participating every year, now in its fifth year. The program consists of classroom lessons on personal growth, and physical training by running. It will start at the end of March, meeting twice a week for about 9 weeks. Participants benefit in a number of ways. Feeling stronger physically helps people feel stronger emotionally, and they learn the value of team support. It encourages relationship-building and making a commitment to see something through to completion. The program relies on volunteers such as Tharp and other teachers. Rotarian Kevin Colclasure (left) has also volunteered to assist with a parallel program for boys join.
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Both groups will make their 5K run one morning in the Spring, and the public is encouraged to attend and cheer them on.
