During intensives, Tim Blok and Susie Wu introduced Dahl Club due to lack of space for students in the building.

“The obvious space was Dahl Field, but it isn​​’t always a great option in the winter because it is cold, rainy, and muddy,” Blok said. “So we did a walking club where students walk around and talk to their friends.” 

Considering the poor conditions in the winter, Blok and Wu both agreed that students needed more motivation to go to Dahl Club. 

“We just tried to hype it up as much as we could to get people to actually show up. The competition was to try and incentivize and also to do a fun thing during intensives,” Blok said.

The competition was a point-based system where students earned points for participating, laps, and walking in the rain. The incentive worked for Miller Weimann, an eighth grader at UPrep, who started participating on the first day because of the competition. 

“I participated every day during intensives in order to win. I liked being with friends during Dahl Club and the competition was fun,” Weimann said.

Shannon Salverda, director of integrated learning, says getting outside and being active is important.

When students have been in classrooms all day and have been sitting for  awhile, it’s helpful to give them a break.

“Anytime that we get a physical state change, it kind of reignites our attention,” Salverda said.

Being outside for just a few minutes balances energy levels and helps us refocus.

“The benefit is that you get to breathe fresh air, and you get to be in the light, which helps our brain wake up,” Salverda said

Seeing that teachers and students enjoy Dahl Club as a break in the day, Blok says he thinks it will continue for the rest of this year.