It’s the middle of the school day Thursday afternoon, but ten students from Evaline School aren’t in their classrooms.
Instead, they’re splashing around in an in-ground pool at the home of Mike and Diane Gilk, enjoying the warm 86-degree temperature — and their teacher is even there to take it all in.
The students, who range in age from six to 12 years old, aren’t skipping school to participate in some leisurely activity. Rather, their adventures in the pool are anything but leisurely, as they spend time each fall to take swimming lessons as part of Evaline School’s physical education course.
“We put the pool in our property when our kids were in junior high, so we’ve had it for about 18 years,” said Diane Gilk, who has lived just north of the schoolhouse on Highway 603 for 32 years. “Our kids graduated high school about ten years ago and we wanted to figure another use for it, so we approached the school district and asked if they wanted to use it for P.E.”
The district, which had tried in the past to bus students to Centralia for swimming lessons, has used the Gilks’ pool for roughly 10 years, according to Evaline head teacher Ann Stout. The children spend two weeks at the very beginning of each school year getting swimming lessons from a certified instructor, learning basic techniques such as the crawl stroke, butterfly stroke, back stroke and other practices such as treading water.
The instructor this year is Centralia College student James Wilson, a certified lifeguard who volunteered his time to help the district and the kids learn. The number of students enables him to spend one-on-one time with each child, helping them work on the finer points of their swimming technique.
“This is one of the funnest things we get to do in school,” said fourth-grader Bretton Bradshaw, 10. “(Wilson) is kinda tough but he makes us learn and he makes it a lot of fun.”
When it came Bradshaw’s turn to swim laps, he did so with relative ease until he reached the last one, when his crawl stroke turned into more of a breaststroke. Seeing he was in trouble, Wilson came alongside him to help him through and form his technique, bringing him down the home stretch and giving him some gentle counsel.
“You started holding your breath there at the end, buddy,” Wilson told Bradshaw. “Make sure you’re breathing out when your face is down, and breathe in when your nose comes up.”
Wilson sent Bradshaw back on his way, where he corrected his action and swam the laps with relative ease. Stout, who keeps a watchful eye while her students are in the pool, said Wilson’s technique and demeanor have had a profound influence on the children in just two weeks of swimming lessons.
“He’s just tough enough with them to where they won’t fool around, but he’s a big enough kid that they really enjoy the class,” Stout said. “It’s been great because he’s fit right in with our educational system here.”
Evaline is one of the smallest schools in Lewis County, as the district contains 33 students, all in kindergarten through sixth grade. The schoolhouse holds many activities outside its four walls as part of an effort to give students as much hands-on learning of the world around them, and Stout says the swimming lessons are a key part of that educational push — an effort made possible by the generosity of the community.
“This is such an amazing way that our parents and citizens have stepped up to really help out the kids,” Stout said. “We’re so thankful for people like the Gilks who have made this possible for so many years.”
Evaline Board to Discuss Building Modernization
The Evaline School Board will meet Tuesday evening for its regularly scheduled board meeting, and will discuss modernization of the school’s facilities at 7 p.m.
The meeting, which will take place at the school’s cafeteria, is open to the public. Some of the discussion may entail floating a bond measure for new construction on the facilities, according to head teacher Ann Stout.
For more information on the board meeting or for general inquiries, contact Evaline School at 785-3460. The schoolhouse is located at the intersection of Schoolhouse Road and Highway 603 in Evaline, roughly a half-mile south of Avery Road.
