• Heart & Sole
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    The Heart & Sole curriculum was developed by Girls on the Run International to meet the unique needs of middle school girls by focusing on the Heart and Sole Announcement whole girl.  The curriculum is designed with themes girls can relate to and helps build the life skills they need.  Heart & Sole is accessible to all girls regardless of athletic ability or fitness level and considers the age range and varied experiences of middle schoolers.

    Heart and Sole is a 10-week program with a smaller team size (8-12 girls) so that girls are given an opportunity to build relationships with their coaches and with one another.  The program teaches life skills such as:
    • Team-building
    • Creating a support system
    • Boundary setting
    • Making connections & friendships
    • Goal setting
    • Problem solving
    • Emotional regulation
    • Standing up for themselves and others
    • Self-care
    • Overcoming obstacles
    • Decision making
    • Asking for and providing help
    The “Girl Wheel” is the central concept of the program and focuses on the whole girl.  In each lesson, girls will participate in activities related to the Girl Wheel components – spirit, body, heart, brain, and social.  At the end of each session, the girls will use a journal to record lap goals, effort and self-reflect on the topics discussed that day. The journal gives girls time to go deeper into the themes and topics of interest to them.

    Running remains a core element of this new Girls on the Run program and includes more rigorous strength and conditioning circuits appropriate for this age group.  As usual, the season culminates with the celebratory Girls on the Run 5k that builds confidence, competence, cooperation and character and gives the girls a tangible sense of goal setting and achievement.

    Questions about Elizabethtown Area Middle School's Heart & Sole program should be directed to Greg Bechtold, EAMS Counselor (greg_bechtold@etownschools.org (717) 361-7525) or to Michele Stackhouse from Girls on the Run of Lancaster (Michele.stackhouse@girlsontherun.org (717) 903-0452).
     
     
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