As classic tunes like the "Macarena" and "The Cupid Shuffle" filled the Wareham Elementary School gymnasium, kids and faculty alike jumped rope and danced to endorse healthy living.

Every year for the last 40 years, Wareham Elementary School spends February and March hosting a fundraiser for the American Heart Association, a national non-profit dedicated to fighting heart disease by teaching people how to love healthy lives.

In order to get kids excited about the fundraiser, gym teacher Deanna Semple organizes an afternoon of dancing and jump roping in the school's gymnasium.

"We get the kids excited about it in gym class and we make it a fun party," Semple said. "We always raise a lot of money too."

The afternoon of jump roping and dancing was held Friday, March 14 and had almost 100 students participate.

Fourth grader Gracyn Ikeaberry said that she had fun jump roping but had more fun dancing.

"My favorite song was the 'Macarena,'" Gracyn said.

Third grader Nova Long also said the dancing was her favorite part and thought the third graders did a better "Macarena" than the fourth graders.

Semple said this is a tradition she inherited from longtime elementary school gym teacher John Clark.

"They learn how to make healthy food choices, they get told to choose water over sugary drinks and to avoid tobacco," she said. "The kids also get taught how to do CPR."

As of Friday the school had raised over $13,000 for the American Heart Association and the fundraiser will continue until the end of March.