Students at Opp Elementary School were excited to find out on Thursday that they had been selected as a 2016-17 Be Healthy School by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama. The school received a $10,000 grant to help combat childhood obesity.

“It really is a great honor to receive this grant,” OES principal Shaun Short said. “We wanted to do something to keep our kids healthy.”

Opp was one of 28 schools in Alabama to receive the grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.

OES coach and teacher Lance McCollough said that they have a lot of plans for the money.

“There a quite a few things that we are going to try to implement with the grant,” McCollough said. “One of the biggest things is we are going to create a nature trail behind the school.”

McCollough said that the nature trail would offer different things for the kids to enjoy while also getting exercise.

“There is a big pine tree back there that kind of acts like a natural amphitheater and we are going to turn it into an outdoor classroom of sorts,” McCollough said, “We also are going to put in a small ropes course on the trail for the kids to enjoy.”

Short said that the kids were excited to find out about the grant.

“The kids are very excited about the grant,” Short said. “I just want to thank all of the students at OES and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama for awarding us with this grant.”