Turtleback Elementary School starts year with new track

There is a new track for the more than 600 students at Turtleback Elementary School, who resumed classes on Aug. 16.

The quarter-mile loop will be especially beneficial to students in the school’s Trekkers running program and its fifth graders when they go through fitnessgram testing, said Principal Ann Auten after the dedication ceremony on Friday.

“(During the test) they have to run one mile and this is exactly a 1/4-mile (loop),” Auten said. “Now our fifth graders have a great place to run and to do well on that test.”

Auten said the school had a track around its grassy field before, but the asphalt was very deteriorated and “kids were getting hurt.” Among those getting scraped up knees were students in the Rancho Bernardo campus’ Trekkers program, a volunteer-led activity.

Over the course of a year, Trekkers students ran enough laps to circle the globe, she added.

“This is awesome,” Auten said about the new track.

It cost more than $13,000 to replace the old track. The money was raised by the Turtleback Education Foundation, said Kevin Juza, the foundation’s president.

Juza said the foundation held many fundraisers including a Character Counts! lesson activity and the APEX Fun Run.

The track dedication ceremony was held during the campus’ welcome back ice cream social. Photos from the social can be seen below.