On Saturday, October 31, GAA’s Wildcats were ready to run. GAA showed their school spirit at the Hudayriat Island, where a run had been organized by our PE teachers. The Penguin Pumpkin Run is a cross country event planned by the Anglo-American school of Moscow, and if students were to participate competitively they would be timed and compared with runners from 21 schools all over the world.

 Competitive highschool students had to run 6km at 7:30am while noncompetitive high schoolers and middle school students ran for 3kms at 8:30am. Middle school students participated! High school students participated! Staff Participated! Even GAA’s Head of school’s, Robert Rinaldo, participated!

Although the weather was slightly hot, with a bit of wind our wildcats braved on. The students that participated the most were middle schoolers, with only 4 high school students that participated. Saif Khraiwesh, one of the participants, a student of grade 11 says, ““it was a very interesting and fun experience especially running with teachers and the head of school and i got to talk to him about sports and how our school loves sports.”

Mister David Allan one of the teachers that participated in the race talks about his experience: “The Penguin Pumpkin Run was a great attempt to build community here at GAA in these unusual times. I give Mr. Rashleigh, Ms. Deniza, and Ms. Illiana credit for creating a great event. I really enjoyed the opportunity to see the staff and students we have not had a chance to interact with in person. I am excited for future events to support the growth of school spirit here at GAA.” 

Everyone had a fun time seeing each other. The school took necessary precautions and measures to insure safety against the threat of corona. All in all it was a fun way to show school spirit and community amongst the staff and students. Here’s to many more events to come