December 2018: Rollerblade Donates Replacement Equipment to Fernway

When Fernway School was devastated by the roof fire last July, Fernway PE teacher Sean Morris lost his students’ most treasured equipment: Rollerblades. 

For nearly two decades, Rollerblading has been a part of the Fernway PE Curriculum for students in grades 1-4, thanks to Mr. Morris. Mr. Morris, who is also an International Inline Skating Instructor, has been an ambassador for the Rollerblade Skate in School Program for the past 17 years and, in that time, he has won the support of Rollerblade president Stephen Charrier. Mr. Morris has helped many school systems around the world utilize the program in Physical Education classes and he’s presented at conferences and workshops highlighting the Skate in School program and his work with the students at Fernway. 

“When I reached out to Stephen with a grant request, his immediate reply was, ‘We will take care of you,’” says Mr. Morris. The company donated nearly $6,000 worth of Rollerblade gear to ensure that Mr. Morris could continue the program. “I have always felt a strong connection to this company and was overwhelmed by their generosity and support,” Mr. Morris adds.

The Rollerblading unit is hands-down the favorite unit of study for students, Mr. Morris says. In addition to the movement and motor skills development benefits, Rollerblading extends experiences from in-class activity lessons to community and family activities, and promotes a physically active lifestyle, risk-taking, confidence and overall development of well-being. “Inline skating is also great for kids and their families in Shaker because it is so accessible. Skate gear is a modest investment that allows kids the opportunity to step out their front door and fly down the sidewalks, paths, and paved school lots around Shaker with friends,” he says.  

Mr. Morris says that the school community has been consoled by incredible acts of kindness like Mr. Charrier’s. “It has been so important for the students to see all the goodness in the world in the middle of such a frightening time of uncertainty and retain something that was familiar and loved at our school,” Mr. Morris says. “The smiles, laughter, and excitement I observed with our students during our first week in the new equipment was priceless. One student was zooming around the gym shouting, ‘I'm free!’ And all students moan when it’s time to take the gear off at the end of our lesson.”