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Students at Moon Lake Elementary School learn about sun safety.
By MICHELE MILLER, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 1, 2003
NEW PORT RICHEY -- The weather might have turned stormy, but the rain held off just long enough for the kids at Moon Lake Elementary to have a little fun in the sun.
Field day events that included relay races, tug of war contests and Hula Hoop competitions were a priority for youngsters such as fourth-grader Jessica Sluder on Thursday. But so was slathering on sunscreen, drinking plenty of water and donning hand-crafted visors and some cool sunglasses.
"The sun can be bad for you," Jessica said as she played on a beach towel in the shade. "You need to drink a lot of cold water."
Thursday's field day was part of a weeklong event to educate youngsters about the importance of sun safety -- and perhaps raise a little money for school technology.
"Block the Sun, Not the Fun" is the name of a $5,000 grant the school is currently vying for, said intermediate teacher Julie Young. The grant will be awarded for a project that promotes sun safety. Educating youngsters and hosting a field day were part of the grant writing process.
"With the current (education) budget, we need all the help we can get," said Young, who coordinated the Moon Lake event. "Who knows how bad it will get next year?"
Although cash for computers and other technology for the school's media center was an enticement for the school, the safety of young children was also an important goal.
Besides educational classroom activities, the event included a visit from a dermatologist, who talked with students about how to prevent skin cancer.
"We learned that severe sunburns for children this age doubles their chances for skin cancer," Young said.
"We see a lot of sunburned kids coming in after the weekend. We're trying to educate the children to know the importance of protecting themselves. Hopefully, we're educating the parents as well."
The message wasn't lost on kids such as Josh Connors, 11, and Paul Bonee, 10, who hung out in the shade of the school's shelter. There was some cause for celebration when their class won the scooter relay race. Still, there was no way either of them was going to compete in the Hula Hoop contest.
"All the girls think it's a guy thing," said Josh, as he and Paul stood on the sidelines predicting the outcome. "It's a girl thing."