Students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the Octorara Area School District took part in the Octorara Parent-Teacher Organization's annual PTO Fun(d) Walk on Oct. 1 to raise money for their schools.

Students from the Octorara Primary Learning Center and the Octorara Elementary School completed the walk at the Octorara Junior-Senior High School track, while Octorara Intermediate School students walked the track at their own school building.

"This is our fifth time running the event; we did not do it last year because of COVID," noted PTO treasurer Joe Lynch, a music teacher at the Octorara Primary Learning Center and the high school musical director.

During the PTO Fun(d) Walk, students dressed in Octorara spirit wear were asked to walk or run on the track for 45 minutes. During their walk or run, students were accompanied by staff members and cheered on by visiting parents.

At the high school track, different activities were held during the walk to keep the students motivated, and music was played over the PA system.

"We had a monster walk, a moon walk lap, a freeze dance lap and a walk and sit lap. The younger grades did a 'Baby Shark' lap," noted Lynch. "We tried to make each lap a little different and changed the style so the kids could be entertained while they walked."

To raise money, students asked friends and family members to pledge or donate money to support the effort, with each student having an online donation account. The goal of the walk was to raise $20,000. As of Oct. 19, more than $17,000 had been raised.

Collecting for the fundraiser was scheduled to end on Oct. 22. When the money is totaled, the overall highest earner will win a $100 Amazon gift card and the top earner from each grade will win a $20 Amazon gift card. There will also be a pretzel party for the classroom from each grade that raises the most money.

All proceeds will be donated to the PTO, which supports the teachers and students by raising money to help with classroom and school needs. The PTO provides support for field trips, transportation, assemblies, books, yearbooks and classroom magazines, and it has helped to purchase playground equipment. Last year, the PTO provided each Octorara student with a lanyard. This year's gift was an Octorara Braves water bottle.