Winter Games Live! » Hall-Dale Elementary School
Hallowell, Maine | Kennebec County
Grades PreK-5
Meet the School
“Helping our Maine children add to their bank of positive memories of being outdoors in the winter will help them continue to choose to be outdoors and active as they grow older.”
Weekly Updates
Week 1
Physical Activity
January 12-16, 2026
Reflections
This week was all about team work at Hall-Dale. We joined together to create an energizing Opening Ceremony. The kids were so excited to be on the news.
The principal, vice principal, custodians, MTSS team (intervention team), alumni, and specials’ teachers joined us to help us pull off a fantastic first week. We had 3 former Hall-Dale students come to teach us about ice hockey and heart healthy winter activities. They showed us stretches they do before they play; demonstrated their skills; and showed us their protective gear.
The students loved learning how to use their stop watches to check their pulses and were thrilled to take them home to show their families. Their favorite activity was the Snack Pals Heart Walk. They found hearts shaped patches in the snow, in lichen, and heart shaped rocks.
We were able to get all the students to be able to participate by involving the special education team, the gym teacher, and the admin to organize make up activities for students who missed an activity due to scheduling!
Moment of the Week
Media Coverage
Week 2
Nutrition
January 19-23, 2026
Moment of the Week
Reflections
The students absolutely loved receiving their pedometers! They wore them everywhere they went and got to practice reading some pretty big numbers.
This week, they learned a lot about nutrition and selecting healthy fuel for their bodies. They did nutrition themed movement activities in both P.E. and Library and recorded their steps and healthy choices in their WinterKids Play Books. We had a school wide assembly put on by the Peter Alfond Prevention & Healthy Living Center and a classroom visit from the district head of nutrition.
One highlight from this week was seeing kids select heart healthy snacks to create a shape of a heart and devour the fresh fruit and veggies! Some kids who often just pick at their food were asking for more. Our PTO did an amazing job making this all happen.
Another heartwarming event from this week was our first ever whole school family lunch event. We had over 130 visitors that day, including our superintendent and head of nutrition for our district. It was amazing to see the school come together and share a meal, stories, and laughter. Thanks to our cafeteria staff, custodians, and community, we may have started a new tradition!
Week 3
Family
January 26-30, 2026
Moment of the Week
Reflections
We started the week with a snow day, but that didn’t hold us back! Students were able to work on their Bingo cards from home and sent pictures to show the great activities they were able to check off.
We got outside as much as we could this week and completed all of our WinterKids’ challenges. The theme this week was Family, and we celebrated being with our families with a Family Fun Night. It was an amazing sight to see so many families braving the cold to have some fun together outside! We had plenty of snow for sledding; light up toys; snow painting; face painting; a magical lighted story walk through the woods; and hot chocolate (provided by Aroma Joes).
Hopefully, we can make this an annual event!
Week 4
Winter Carnival
February 2-6, 2026
Moment of the Week
Reflections
We celebrated the end of our Winter Games with an energizing Winter Carnival and Closing Ceremony. Our school is honored to have a former student competing in the Olympics this year, and honored this special connection with a giant formation of the Olympic rings and school wide dance party at our very own Closing Ceremony.
We put in a lot of hard work and had a lot of fun this month. Hopefully, some new healthy habits have been instilled in our students. As we headed out for an activity this week, one student exclaimed, “Yay! I’ll take nature over technology any day!”
The WinterKids Winter Games is a four-week outdoor learning challenge that inspires thousands of Maine elementary students to move, learn, and explore during the HEART of winter.
