This was reported by the Lockport Union Sun last week...
Kids can be pretty active, but for those at schools like Royalton-Hartland Elementary, they’re being active for healthy reasons.
The school is one of dozens in Western New York participating in Independent Health’s annual Fitness for Kids Challenge. The health initiative, now in its third year, aims to bend the increasing trend of Type 2 diabetes and rising obesity in youth by encouraging them to engage in fitness activities and make healthy food choices, Independent Health said.
But for some kids, participating meant just being their usual active selves. Roy-Hart fourth grader Jake Cassick said he did a lot of walking around in the neighborhood. He also plays hockey and soccer in the fall.
“On Halloween we walked about three miles,” Cassick, 9, said. “I also go outside to play with my brother. And I have some apples and every morning I have either orange juice or milk.”
Like Cassick, second grader Dominic Peracciny, 7, is usually active. Both students were among the 10 Roy-Hart winners awarded Monday for their activities in October and November.
“I like basketball,” Peracciny said. “And I really enjoy apples.”
For the challenge, kids had to complete a healthy activity log each month that chronicled either some kind of physical activity they did or their choice to eat something healthy. The activities could be as simple as walking the dog to as strenuous as playing a sport.
This year, five monthly winners are chosen from each school and receive a red Fitness for Kids insulated lunch bag. Physical education teacher Jan Cilip said Roy-Hart received theirs Monday for their 10 winners from the months of October and November.
During the challenge, kids in grades two through four keep to the “5-2-1-0” concept created last year. That means kids should have five fruits and vegetables a day, no more than two hours of computer or television time a day, one hour of daily exercise and zero sugary drinks.
Read the rest of the article -- which describes the system in greater detail and notes the participation of other schools -- online here:
http://lockportjournal.com/local/x1184739813/Fun-with-fitness
Kids can be pretty active, but for those at schools like Royalton-Hartland Elementary, they’re being active for healthy reasons.
The school is one of dozens in Western New York participating in Independent Health’s annual Fitness for Kids Challenge. The health initiative, now in its third year, aims to bend the increasing trend of Type 2 diabetes and rising obesity in youth by encouraging them to engage in fitness activities and make healthy food choices, Independent Health said.
But for some kids, participating meant just being their usual active selves. Roy-Hart fourth grader Jake Cassick said he did a lot of walking around in the neighborhood. He also plays hockey and soccer in the fall.
“On Halloween we walked about three miles,” Cassick, 9, said. “I also go outside to play with my brother. And I have some apples and every morning I have either orange juice or milk.”
Like Cassick, second grader Dominic Peracciny, 7, is usually active. Both students were among the 10 Roy-Hart winners awarded Monday for their activities in October and November.
“I like basketball,” Peracciny said. “And I really enjoy apples.”
For the challenge, kids had to complete a healthy activity log each month that chronicled either some kind of physical activity they did or their choice to eat something healthy. The activities could be as simple as walking the dog to as strenuous as playing a sport.
This year, five monthly winners are chosen from each school and receive a red Fitness for Kids insulated lunch bag. Physical education teacher Jan Cilip said Roy-Hart received theirs Monday for their 10 winners from the months of October and November.
During the challenge, kids in grades two through four keep to the “5-2-1-0” concept created last year. That means kids should have five fruits and vegetables a day, no more than two hours of computer or television time a day, one hour of daily exercise and zero sugary drinks.
Read the rest of the article -- which describes the system in greater detail and notes the participation of other schools -- online here:
http://lockportjournal.com/local/x1184739813/Fun-with-fitness
