•tilth i s happiness | C O M M U N I T Y

Her m

class

G o o d r i d d a n c e ,

r o p e c i i m b i n g .

C i a o , c h i n - u p s . S o

l o n g , s i t - u p s . T h e s e

C a n a d i a n s c h o o l s

a r e g e t t i n g t h e i r

s t u d e n t s p s y c h e d

f o r p h y s - e d .

BY J E N N I F E R P O W E R S C O T T

Things have changed since the days of tough-talking, whistle-wielding gym teachers who high-fived the jocks as the athletically challenged kids trembled in their tracksuits. With one in four Canadian children being overweight or obese, some schools are finding imaginative ways to pet Generation Text on the move.

o In Go lden , B.C., k ids f r o m Alexander Park e lemen ta ry School take walks hy the K i c k i n g I lorse

River. Teenagers f r o m St. Peter's Academy in t iny Beno i ts Cove, gl ide across shiny ponds

d u r i n g school canoe t r ips. At Ecole Pine Grove Publ ic School in Oakv i l le, Ou t . , students juggle

pins, scarves and r ings. "Physical act iv i ty doesn't have to mean sports," says Jenni fer Benoit , a

physical educat ion teacher in Niagara Falls, O n t . "It 's not jus t for the athletes anymore."

Here are th ree o ther C a n a d i a n schools w i t h h e a r t - p u m p i n g programs that are i nsp i r i ng

kids to fa l l in love w i t h f i tness — for l i fe . »

HIMR 2 0 1 2 I I N S P I R I N G I D E A S F O R E V E R Y D A Y L I V I N G

health is happiness I C O M M U N I T Y

Teaming With PRIDE • The Big Picture: W h e n 14-year-

o ld A ins ley Dubowec d idn ' t make the

top vo l leybal l team at H e n r y C . Izat t

M i d d l e School in W i n n i p e g , her

d reams o f g lory on the cou r t weren' t

c rushed . U n l i k e many schools i n

Canada , H C I has a no-cuts sports

po l icy for grades 5 to 8. So A ins ley

b locked and b u m p e d for the B team.

" I f you don't make the A t eam, you're

not necessari ly one o l the wors t

players," she says. "You can develop,

and maybe make the team next year."

A school o f a lmost 6 0 0 k ids, H C I

has a vigorous sports p rogram. In

Grade 6 alone, 50 gir ls play on five

vol leybal l teams. " I t w o u l d be

hypocr i t i ca l o f us to te l l the students

to stay active and then tel l t hem they

can't be on our teams," says gym

teacher Tracy Payne-Barret t . " T h e

message that w o u l d send is that

they're not deserv ing o f our gym space

and t ime . That w o u l d be a tragedy."

T h e school also promotes sport-

free f i tness. A c lassroom was

converted in to a f i tness room w i t h

exercise bikes, stabi l i ty bal ls and o ther

equ ipment . Sk ipp ing , sk i ing , j u g g l i n g

and yoga are part o f g y m classes. A n d

every k id at H G I has learned a

h ip -hop dance. T he goal , says

Payne-Barret t , is " to make everyone

feel l ike they have a place i n the gym. "

• The Turning Point: O n e o f Payne-Barrett 's f r iends to ld her how

she had loathed gym class as a k id but

grew up to become a fitness ins t ructor .

T h a t story — along w i t h the a l a r m i n g

stats on ch i l dhood obesity — sparked

the f i tness revo lu t ion at H G I . "A f te r

speak ing w i t h her," Payne-Barret t

says, " I real ized that I needed to real ly

encourage a love for personal f i tness."

T h e no-cuts po l icy in sports has

been in place since H G I opened i n

the 1990s; A n d r e a G r a n t h a m ,

execut ive d i rec to r o f Physical and

H e a l t h Educa t ion Canada , says more

C a n a d i a n schools shou ld give k ids

tha t o p p o r t u n i t y to play. " W h a t needs

to happen is that open door," she

says, "where everybody can

par t i c ipa te i n the i r o w n way." For

schools w i thou t a no-cuts pol icy,

G r a n t h a m says i n t r a m u r a l s and clubs

give every k id a safe place to

par t i c ipa te i n physical act iv i ty .

• Try It at Your School: G y m teacher Blue Jay Br idge suggests

o ther physical educa t ion teachers

lobby the i r adm in i s t r a t i ons for school

f i tness rooms. H a v i n g these fac i l i t ies

ups the chances that act ive s tudents

w i l l become act ive adu l ts , he says.

" W h e n [these] k ids go ou t a f te r h igh

school , it's not the f irst t ime they've

Girl POWER

• The Big Picture: Last f a l l , phys-ed

teacher Jessica A n d r e a t t a stood on a

stage at No t re Dame Col lege Schoo l

i n W e l l a n d , O n t . , and wa tched her

d r e a m come t rue . A l m o s t 100 gi r ls

and teachers packed the g y m n a s i u m

for an af ter -school aerobics class.

L e a d i n g the c rowd in step- touches,

grapevines and j u m p i n g jacks ,

A n d r e a t t a savoured every sweaty,

m u s i c - t h u m p i n g second. " I had goose

bumps , " she says. " I t was j us t the best

fee l ing ever."

T h e class was part o f Females

Us ing Energy for L i fe ( F U E L ) , a

p rogram used i n 13 schools in the

Niagara region o f On ta r i o . G i r ls get

together once a week for Z u m b a ,

Pilates and o ther adrenal ine-charged,

noncompet i t i ve aerobic f u n . It's a

chance to let loose, forget the fellas

and focus on fitness. "You don' t have

to show o f f when i t s on ly gir ls," says

ever seen e l l i p t i ca l mach ines , " he

says. "They 've used those in schoo l ,

and they unders tand t h e m . "

As for the no-cuts pol icy, Payne-

Bar re t t warns some educators w i l l

resist the idea because they don ' t

want the i r schools s i n k i n g in the

standings. " W e prove that theory

w r o n g , " she says. " O u r Grade 8 gi r ls

B vo l leybal l team beat th ree o f the

six A teams at t ou rnamen ts th is year.'

Chelsea Futers, a 17-year-old student

at the school. "You get to be goofy. You

work out w i t h o u t any inh ib i t i ons , and

that's jus t the most amaz ing th ing . "

• The Turning Point: Kendra Har le

and Sarah Leyenaar o f N iagara

Region Pub l ic H e a l t h adapted F U E L

as a way o f p u m p i n g up g i r l power.

" I saw gir ls in unhea l thy re la t ionships,

w i t h low sel f -esteem, d r u g use,

a lcoho l use and poor dec i s i on -mak ing

a r o u n d sexual hea l t h , " says Har le , a

school nurse. " T h e more act ive g i r ls

are, the bet ter choices they make . "

T h e enthus ias t ic teens w ho

par t i c ipa te in F U E L have become

the i r own k i nd o f team, wear ing

br ight p i n k T-shi r ts and set t ing up

flashy display boards. A n d the gir ls are

excited about t r y i ng act iv i t ies such »

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as Z u m b a and Pi latcs lor the first

l i m e . "They ' re c o m m i t t e d , and they 're

get t ing to know more people, says

l.evenaar, who is a heal th promoter .

" I hex l e d better about themsehes.

That 's the best success story."

• Try It at Your S c h o o l : Programs

l ike I 'UI'.I could igni te change bevontl

the Niagara region. People in places

f r o m Nova Scot ia to A lber ta have

contac ted Leyenaar to learn more

about the p rogram. She says success

starts w i t h great vo lunteers and

teachers v\ ho are passionate about

insp i r ing gir ls. " W o r k i n g u i th youth

is amaz ing , but it's also cha l leng ing ,

l .evenaar savs. " \ o u need someone

who's able to mot iva te t h e m . '

Make 'Em S EAT

• The B i g P i c t u r e : I i\e vears ago,

A l l i son C a m e r o n decided to make her

s tudents sweat. She added t readmi l l s

and exercise bikes to her c lassroom at

C i t y Park Col leg ia te in Saskatoon

and loaded u p o n deodorant st icks.

A lew k ids were bal l ied . I ou r k ids

swore at her, one boy more t h a n

once. Hut eventual ly , the class

w a r m e d up to w o r k i n g out . " I t lelt

good, " savs Devon Nagv, now an

IN-vcar-old Grade 12 s tudent . "A f t e r

each w o r k o u t , you wou ld be t i r ed , but

vou locused on your work more.

A n d he lp ing kids f ind that locus

was exactly the goal ol Cameron 's

p rog ram, cal led Movemen t Ma t te rs .

Many s tudents at C i t y Park have

l ea rn ing d isab i l i t ies , menta l hea l th

prob lems or o ther issues that make it

hard to succeed in school . Once the

t r eadmi l l s and bikes had the i r b lood

r u s h i n g lor 20 m inu tes , C a m e r o n

w o u l d have the kids crack open the i r

books. Suddenly , teens who used to

have t roub le concen t ra t i ng were

f i n i s h i n g ass ignments . " I I I had not

been in th is room to wi tness i l , "

C a m e r o n savs, " I wou ldn ' t have

bel ieved that k i nd o l drast ic change

can happen that qu ick ly .

• The Turning Point: W h e n she was

a new teacher w o r k i n g at another

school , C a m e r o n real ized exercise

can boost b ra inpower and help ca lm

students. One ol Cameron 's Grade 7

students was k icked o i l the school bus

lor f igh t ing and o ther inappropr iate

behaviour, so his mother drove h im to

school early each day. Not know ing

w bat else Io do w i th h i m belore class,

Cameron took h i m r u n n i n g . " I hen

I not iced, she savs. That bis clavs

were much hel ler.

Cameron has added more bikes

and t readmi l ls at City Park Col legiate.

She savs the workou ts make kids

more con f iden t , help t hem keep lit

and gel t hem closer to g raduat ion .

• Try It at Your S c h o o l : Cameron

says f i tness in c lassrooms can work

anv where — but only i l teachers are

w i l l i ng to lace up the i r sneakers, too.

" W h e n you're on a t r eadm i l l side by

side w i t h s tudents , they let the i r

guard dow n, and re lat ionships l o r m

that I w o u l d never have dreamed of,"

she savs. "Everybody has someth ing

to ain." •

62 I N F 2 0 1 2 I I N S P I R I N G I D E A S F O R E V E R Y D A Y L I V I N G