Two local schools earn $500 in gym equipment for participating in national fitness challenge

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SUSSEX - Hundreds of students at both Sussex Elementary School and Sussex Corner Elementary School improved their fitness level participating in two separate tests as a part of the Go Active! Fitness Challenge this year.

The students at SES achieved a 15.86 per cent improvement rate from their fall to spring tests while the students at SCES improved their fitness by 10.33 per cent.

Students were tested once in the fall, and then again in the spring in six different exercises: push-ups, sit-ups, standing long jump, shuttle run, 50 meter dash and an endurance run.

District Six Physical Education specialist Brenda Leask has been conducting the challenge with students for four years. She tests her students in the fall, and then had her students practice the events throughout the winter months to prepare for the second leg of the test.

She said Go Active! is good for the students because once they put in the effort for the first round of testing in the fall, even if they struggle, they have a goal to strive for when the second time around.

"Its no big deal if you (the student) can't do it, but try your best and hopefully next time we test, they'll see an improvement," said Leask. "Most of them do."

The annual Go Active! fitness challenge is supported by MacDonald's Restaurants of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee. This year, 223 students from SCES, and 443 students from SES participated in the challenge.

Both SES and SCES earned $500 in Wintergreen physical education equipment for their participation in the challenge.

Leask said programs like Go Active! are vital to making children aware of the importance of living an active and healthy lifestyle and thinks schools should take the reigns.

"The school needs to be the leader in educating kids that living healthy is important," said Leask. "Not only to remain active but to realize the importance of being active and living healthy."

Not only is an active lifestyle healthy, she said, but it helps to build self-confidence, an invaluable trait that will carry with them wherever they go.

"I know everyone isn't athletic, but it doesn't matter," said Leask "Just showing them if you can be active, you feel good about yourself and that means everything."

She said she sees a trend of kids prone to sitting inside during the day, who aren't aware of the fun they can have while playing sports and other activities.

"I think that in our lifestyles, we need to be promoting having kids out there doing the best they can do," said Leask.