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Their own slice of Vancouver

Thursday, February 25, 2010

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Merrimack High School gymnast Vicky Lombardi performs her floor routine for the student body during the winter pep rally. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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Merrimack High School spirit team members Courtney Brown and Joslyn Schwalbe kick it up a notch during a performance at the winter pep rally. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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Merrimack Assistant Superintendent Mark McLaghlin and high school Principal Ken Johnson carry the Olympic torch into the gym to kick off the Olympic spirit week celebration and winter pep rally. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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Cady Hickman reacts after learning she has outsmarted her student opponents in a game of "Simon Says" during the winter pep rally held at Merrimack HIgh School on Feb. 12, part of Olympic spirit week festivities. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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Merrimack High School students and teachers kick off their Olympic spirit week with a "banner walk" around the school. Shown, from left to right, are Caroline Masterson, Madison Smith, Charlie Johnson. Caitlyn Ortega, Janet Brown, Laura Gibson, and Annie Steeves. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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Merrimack High School gymnast Vicky Lombardi performs her floor routine for the student body during the winter pep rally. Photo courtesy of Mary Pelrine.

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By KAREN LOVETT

Staff Writer

MERRIMACK – As hundreds of athletes from all over the world gathered in Vancouver, British Columbia, for a fortnight of Olympic Games, Merrimack High School students honored the spirit of the event at home.

Each day last week, students and staff at the school had the opportunity to participate in plenty of Olympic-themed activities, both during and after school.

This new initiative was organized by Amy Larkin-Perez, head of the school’s physical education and health department, and Linda Mandra, gifted and talented coordinator. They’ve been planning for a year to get a week’s worth of events in place to align with the Olympics.

“I always felt that the Olympics were never really celebrated in our school,” Larkin-Perez said. “I wanted to take the opportunity to promote the ideas of the Olympics, with a focus on health and wellness.”

On Friday, Feb. 12 – also the opening day of the actual Olympics – selected students representing many clubs and groups kicked off the activities with a modified “torch walk” around the school, with a banner leading the way instead of a flame.

Last week’s main event was a health and wellness fair featuring 30 vendors, who touched on topics such as martial arts, yoga, chiropractic, organic foods, domestic violence, nutrition, Special Olympics and smoking.

Larkin-Perez said the idea behind the fair was to “make students and staff aware that there’s a variety of options to make us as healthy and fit as possible.”

Other activities through the week included a fitness challenge with members of the National Guard; a table tennis tournament; workshops on aging, sleeping and health; Olympic-themed films; a “basketball bash”; cross-country skiing; a “snowshoe showdown”; a badminton battle; and a trivia challenge.

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