Catskill High School’s physical education department’s Run/Walk NY PE Incentive Program encourages physical activity and motivates students through structured goals and rewards. The program also enhances learning, both in the classroom and throughout the community. Its broader mission is to combat stress, heart disease, and obesity while promoting overall physical, social, and emotional health. This initiative has brought new energy and opportunity to many of our students’ daily physical education routines.
On Friday, 35 high school PE and Art students who had logged at least 12 miles toward their 146-mile goal participated in a walk from CHS to the Thomas Cole House, where they enjoyed lunch in the gardens. Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School, has inspired our students with his landscape paintings, particularly of nearby Kaaterskill Falls. The group continued across the Hudson River Skywalk to Olana, the estate of another Hudson River School painter, Frederic Church. The five-mile walk culminated in a scenic gathering at the top of the switchbacks. At Olana, students explored the art exhibit “Winter in the Summer House” by Ellen Harvey, a captivating installation featuring a mirrored gazebo that filters sunlight through glacier-like topography etched landscapes. The artwork also displays modern day environmental activism. The landscapes, inspired by and borrowing from Church’s famous paintings, left a strong impression on our students, connecting art, nature, and wellness in one memorable experience.
