By Charlene Conill - St. Theresa School (Little Flower)
Some of the St. Theresa School faculty and staff who took part in the fitness walking challenge during the 2023-24 school year, along with their challenger, Coach Frank Ramos at rear, pose for a photo on the school grounds.
CORAL GABLES | The 2023-2024 school year was no ordinary year for the faculty and staff of St. Theresa School, as all were invited to take part in a first-of-its-kind fitness challenge.
The dare was made by longtime physical education teacher, Frank Ramos, as a way of commemorating his 55th year teaching at St. Theresa.
At the beginning of the school year, Coach Ramos announced the challenge to the school’s nearly 100 faculty members: Collectively, he challenged them to walk the round-trip distance between Miami and Seattle, Washington, before the end of the school year.
While the staff did not actually walk to the Pacific Northwest, they did walk the more than 7,300 miles it would take to walk to Seattle and back. Each staff member and teacher who participated in the challenge kept track of their daily mileage and reported it to Ramos weekly. Several school staff members got in on the challenge and quickly racked up miles by walking at any opportunity they could: first thing in the morning before school started, on the track; during lunch time; and after the final bell.
The faculty and staff separated into teams to collect their miles, each team having a specific animal name such as the Bears, Tigers, Buffalos, and Seahawks. The first goal of 3,000 miles was reached before the end of the first semester, on Nov. 17, 2023. By Feb. 15, 2024, the group had gotten close to the goal with 6,000 miles. But the final goal of 7,329 miles (the exact distance between St. Theresa Catholic School and Seattle’s Space Needle) was officially reached on April 18, 2024.
The top teams were the Bears with 2,520 miles; the Tigers with 1,611 miles; and the Buffalos with 952 miles.
One teacher stood out with the most amount of individual miles: Kindergarten aide Patricia Bechamps walked over 600 miles. Close behind her was kindergarten teacher Fila Martinez, with well over 500 miles. Rounding out the top walkers were kindergarten teacher Cristina Padron, third grade teacher Mariela Calderon, and fourth grade teacher Marilu de la Osa, all with over 400 miles.
“I wanted to do something special and memorable for my 55th year as a PE teacher at St. Theresa, so I asked our principal, Sister Rosalie, if I could start a fitness challenge for our faculty and staff,” said Ramos. “She was 100% supportive of it from the very beginning.”
The challenge meant daily exercise for each participant and the staff were excited to walk everyday to “beat” opposing teams in their mileage count.
The faculty enjoyed the daily fitness activity and have since incorporated walking into their daily routines, even though the challenge is over.
Ramos said he plans to challenge his coworkers once again next year by pairing the high-mileage participants with those who did not make it as far, in an effort to create a buddy-season for the next challenge. The names of those who participated this year will be placed on a special plaque in the school. They also received team medallions.
Charlene Conill is St. Theresa School's parent and public relations liaison.
