Schools Sign Up to Give Get Up & Go a Great
Start.
Schools across St. Clair County have signed up with the Get Up & Go
Health and Fitness Campaign and given it a great start. From a
First Grade class at Scott Elementary School to the entire Belleville
West High Scholl, the number of students that have joined this health
and fitness campaign so far is in excess of 4,000... and growing
daily. At the annual Dr. Scrivner Foundation dinner this week,
Dr. Rita Arras, PhD, to a moment during her speech to comment on the
overwhelming support that the schools have shown for this program.
"With child obesity now listed as a national epidemic, our first goal
has to be to encourage healthy diet and an active lifestyle in our
children. We must Get Up and Go!" Later that evening while
introducing the guest speaker (and our own Honorary Chairman) Craig
Virgin, she again noted, "the response from the schools and teachers
has been completely overwhelming." These sentiments were echoed
by Craig Virgin and the several of the other dignitaries at the
dinner.While some schools are using the Get Up & Go campaign to
reinforce the activities and health awareness that is already part of
their curriculum, others are planning major events to bring the
message home with their students. According to Joe Ballard,
Scott Elementary School is planning a day of fitness testing, similar
to the Presidential fitness program, and a school wide Get Up & Go
walk dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyle choices. Bob Dahm,
principal at Belleville West High School has informed us that they
will be sponsoring the 2008 Race for Character at Belleville West on
May 10th and has invited Get Up & Go to join the activities that day
by celebrating the Get Up & Go Recognition party after the race on the
Belleville West campus. While the details are still being worked
out, it looks as though a thousand or more people could be on hand for
a day long celebration of fun, fitness and healthy lifestyles.
But the participation isn't limited to just whole schools and major
events. Many classes from around the county have joined in with
their own Get Up & Go programs. Some are using the "Name the
Mascot" contest as way to focus on health and fitness in the
classroom, and have fun doing it. Others have created their own
fitness program as part of the campaign and are logging their efforts
to share with the reat of us. Miss Suzanna Phelps 1st grade
class at Scott Elementary has reported that in addition to
participating in the contest, "We are walking each day for 10 to 15
minutes and logging the miles we walk on the Walk Across Illinois
website. On bad weather days we are doing balance activities in
the classroom."
"It's so wonderful to see such a diverse response from the
schools." According to Mark Peters, "We have had schools sign up
from Marissa to Belleville, from Scott AFB to Swansea, and from first
grade to high school. I really think that we have a chance of
getting nearly every school in the county involved, and that would be
incredible!" We'll if this week is any indication, we might just see
that happen.
Do you have news, highlights or pictures
to share? Email us at
Info@GetUpGo.info
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