The game is "Chase Johnny" and the goal for the Sussex School students is to catch their teacher - on ice skates.
About 15 energetic third- and fourth-graders eagerly join in the pursuit Friday afternoon on a newly built 30-by-50-foot rink adjacent to the Missoula private school. Minutes later they participate in several other group games, all aimed at getting them to exercise outdoors in the cold crisp air.
"If it makes them move for 45 minutes, two times a week, that's a success in itself," Ledyard said.
Not all the youngsters have skates. Quinn Slotnick, 9, said his pair broke, but he found amusement Friday in sliding across the slippery surface in his boots and chasing around with his friends.
He did note he was at a disadvantage during some of the speed games that included a team relay and Rainbow Tag. The latter is a game in which kids must try to make it from one side of the rink to the other without being tagged. Each skater caught becomes part of the pack of pursuers until no one is left to tag.
All the youngster wear helmets.
"It's really fun," said Cora Bucher, 8, with a shy smile.
Arwyn Anthony, 9, said the school tried to create a pond a few years ago but the effort didn't work out. She's glad the project succeeded this time, although the ice does need a little work, she remarked, sizing up the surface and pointing out a few small holes.
Ledyard said he and parent Joe Grigsby spend about one to three hours each day spraying, shoveling and maintaining the rink for the kids.
"It's a lot of work," he said, explaining why it hasn't always worked out in past years. "It requires a couple parents to stay on top of it all the time."
About 72 students are enrolled in the school which operates as a cooperative with parents helping out at the education center.
Any Sussex family may use the rink, Ledyard said. About 80 percent to 90 percent of the K-4 student population has taken to the ice at one time or another. All the kindergartners and third- and fourth-graders use it as part of their physical education classes.
Ledyard said Sussex is one of only a couple schools in Missoula that now has a rink and integrates ice skating into its physical education curriculum.
In November, students warmed up for the winter skating season by first spending four days at Glacier Ice Rink thanks to a Sussex parent, Dave Aamundson, who is a manager at the rink. At Glacier Rink they gained some general instruction. Shortly after Christmas, the school rink was ready for skaters.
The frozen pond is a hit, the group of youngsters said Friday, and it's proved a success at motivating them to participate in physical education, Ledyard said.
"I know I've got a bunch of kids psyched to skate," he said.
Reporter Jane Rider can be reached at 523-5298 or at jrider@missoulian.com.
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