(reprinted from the December 7, 2007 Indianapolis Star by Cathy Kightlinger)
Indian Creek Elementary School student Emily Flandermeyer is a day away from achieving one of her fitness goals.
Fifth-graders from Skiles Test Elementary School run along with a teacher after school. They braved the snow as part of their training for the Jingle Bell Run.
Saturday, she will be one of about 85 fifth-graders from Lawrence Township Schools to run in Indianapolis’ Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis. Indian Creek, Brook Park and Skiles Test students have been training for the run with the help of adults in an eight-week after-school program.
“It’s been hard sometimes, but overall it’s been fun,” said Emily, 10, who has been training for the event with other fifth-graders for weeks. “I’ve learned how to set goals and kind of work my way to achieve them, and never give up.”
Flandermeyer and the other young runners are part of a larger Lawrence Township Schools project called My Community Gets Healthy, which is aimed at encouraging students to make their health and fitness a priority.
The Lawrence Township Schools program comes at a time when heath experts are spotlighting obesity in the United States, and statistics show that the proportion of Americans who are obese has doubled among adults and tripled among children since 1980. Seventy-two million adults are considered obese.
Some of the township’s physical education teachers already have the technology — including software and hand-held computers — that allows students’ fitness testing data to be compared with national results. Students can learn how their fitness levels, including body mass index, muscle strength and cardiovascular endurance, stacks up against others their age.
The Lawrence Township School Foundation is partnering with several
community organizations in a new initiative, My Community Gets Healthy
(MCGH). MCGH expands upon a Foundation-sponsored fitness program that is in
several of our elementary schools and one middle school.
MCGH will bring a comprehensive, sustainable fitness and wellness
program into all Lawrence Township schools. MCGH will involve fitness
instruction during and after school and will also incorporate wellness
instruction for families. This year’s culminating event will be the Geist
Half Marathon on May 17th.
MCGH’s goals are to:
* Increase fitness awareness
* Develop a healthy lifestyle curriculum
* Connect resources within the school community
* Document & measure the impact of program
How can you become involved?
You can sponsor a student! Just $25 provides the necessary funding to offer
this ground-breaking health improvement program to one student this year!
If you would like to sponsor a student/s, click here. (Please include
‘MCGH’ in the comment section.)
We are looking for mentors who are interested in working with students in
after school fitness programs. (click here to learn more) We are also
looking for program sponsors (monetary or in kind, i.e. running shoes, T
shirts, snacks). If you would like more information, please email Christie
Love at clove@msdlt.k12.in.us.
Beginning in February, The Lawrence Township School Foundation, in partnership with many community partners, will launch our township- wide Up and Running After School Program.
We are looking for teachers/mentors to assist with training of students and families for the Geist Half Marathon & 5K. No experience is necessary to be a trainer/mentor! We will need 1 teacher/mentor for every 10 runners participating in the program. Indian Creek, Brook Park and Skiles Test piloted the program this fall and it was a huge success with more than 80 fifth graders running in the Jingle Bell Run.
If you would like more information on the Up and Running program, please contact Pam Day at Indian Creek (964-4400 or pammyday@msdlt.k12.in.us). We plan to have a general meeting for those interested in January so please let me know SOON if you are interested!
