Students march around Reeceville Elementary School in the hopes of showing the country obesity can be controlled through physical exercise and good nutrition.
Posted: Friday, 19 Oct. 07; 2 p.m.
Students and faculty at Reeceville Elementary are ready to tackle the nation's weight problem one step at a time.
Across the country, obesity has become a national health crisis. The number of children and adults classified as overweight or obese has tripled, due mainly to poor nutritional choices and physical inactivity.
The students at Reeceville Elementary are hoping to show there is a better way. They are making a physical statement by launching 'Walking Toward Wellness,' a project involving all students and faculty that will continue for the rest of the school year. Physical Education teacher Sue Tarantino, along with Principal Anthony Buckwash, both said their desire is to help battle this lack of fitness and obesity.
'Walking Towards Wellness' was the school voted name for the project. Beginning Wednesday, Oct. 10, following morning announcements, and every Wednesday thereafter, all students and staff members at Reeceville Elementary School will walk for 10 minutes.
Tarantino said students have practiced walking during P.E. classes and by grade level, routes have been measured out, and the teachers and staff have been very receptive in understanding the importance of this noncompetitive project to help correct our nationšs current crisis.
Tarantino said students needed to understand why fitness is so important. Once this understanding was in place, all of the students signed a large banner and wrote their thoughts on why fitness is so important. The banner now hangs in the school for everyone to see.
It is great when one project leads into a great curriculum connections. Tarantino said teachers will count the laps their class makes in 10 minutes, which will then be calculated into distance. With this information, the school as a whole will map out just how far they walked, and it will be mapped out across the United States on a map that hangs in the school.
On their first day of walking, as a whole school, Reeceville students and staff walked 243 miles! They have decided to map out a southern route on their map since winter is fast approaching. At this point, they have reached Washington D.C. and are gaining ground on Richmond, Virginia.
"We will see where it goes. This is exciting for us,˛ said Tarantino.