KENNEBUNK — Third-grade student Jacob Towne was having trouble with his pushups.
He was utilizing a set of devices called the Perfect Pushup, a pair of discs that, when placed on the floor, allow for movement and flexibility in the wrists while exercising. Towne, while gamely plowing through his repetitions, was starting to feel strain in his arms.
“Try not rotating your hands as much,” advised Stacey Schatzabel, Towne’s teacher at Kennebunk Elementary School, while she pedaled away on her stationary bike. The advice worked, and as Towne finished his pushups, his classmates wound things up at their own workout stations. For a brief time Tuesday morning, the fitness room was a cacophony of flying limbs, twirling hula-hoops, cranking pedals and squeaking sneakers.
In the fitness room at KES, inactivity isn’t an option.
The room ”“ and the fitness equipment therein ”“ is part of an effort by the school to get students exercising more, and to instill in them a positive attitude regarding physical fitness.
Kennebunk Elementary now regards itself as a 5-2-1-0 school. The program is something any school may adopt, and is a means of holding children ”“ and their parents ”“ accountable for their own health. Each of the numbers represents a recommendation: Five is the number of recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables; two is the number of hours of screen time (television, computers, etc.) to which a child should be limited; one is the number of hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity that is recommended; and zero is the recommended number of sodas and sugary drinks a child should consume per day.
The program seems to be catching on.
“It keeps your body healthy,” said third-grade student Kelsey Rizzo after her class’s time in the fitness room.
“It’s fun,” said classmate Nathon Bernier. “It makes your body strong.”
Schatzabel said that the school has been following the 5-2-1-0 philosophy for about a year now, and with positive results.
“It’s made a huge impact,” said Schatzabel. “They can focus a lot more, and they look forward to coming in to school. We start each day with a physical activity.
“For those kids who have the fidgets and need to be active, they can do it in an acceptable way,” she said.
The school’s push to increase awareness of fitness and proper nutrition was bolstered recently by a grant it received from the Kellogg’s corporation. Of the 24 grant applications from schools in the state of Maine, only nine were awarded, and KES has used its funds ”“ $1,000 in total ”“ to invest in programs and materials aimed at perpetuating its message of health.
About half of the grant funds went toward fruits and vegetables for a Wellness Fair hosted by the school on Wednesday.
During the fair, students went from room to room taking part in different activities inspired by the 5-2-1-0 mindset. Some classrooms were set aside for exercise, while others were reserved for presentations made by parents who have established careers in the health field, such as dentists and nurses.
But one of the most popular rooms was the snack room, made possible by the Kellogg’s grant, where students enjoyed fresh fruits and vegetables such as watermelon slices, celery and strawberries.
Parent Tami Chestnut was on hand to help deliver the goodies, and said that the school’s health-conscious stance was having an effect on her children.
“My kids eat pretty healthy anyway, but they were pretty excited about this,” said Chestnut. “They’re really conscious of what they’re bringing in (for lunch). They don’t want to be known as the kids who brought in the junky food.”
Another chunk of grant funds, about $250, will go toward an event dubbed a Parent Evening Culinary Adventure. Kristen Miale from Community Health Kitchens will host a workshop at KES on April 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. with the goal of educating parents on how they can prepare healthy meals for their children at home.
Jennifer Haddad, a KES parent and member of the school’s Wellness Committee, who was instrumental in landing the Kellogg’s grant, said a healthful taco dinner will be the dish of the evening.
“The grant is making it possible for food samples to be made available that night,” said Haddad. “(Miale) is going to teach us how to spice up meat in a healthy way, and everybody’s going to leave with a book of recipes.”
As to the school’s overall health and fitness push, Haddad said, “It’s been a phenomenon. I think what the phys. ed. teacher is doing here is phenomenal.”
That teacher, Diane Dyer, has invested the remaining $250 of the grant in the fitness room, purchasing an exercise game for the Nintendo Wii video console, as well as a couple of hydraulic foot-steppers, which proved popular with Schatzabel’s students during their Tuesday workout.
Dyer has also been promoting the school’s Five-a-Day Bracelets, a series of five bracelets that, when moved from one wrist to another, reminds a student how many servings of fruits and vegetables they have consumed that day, and how many more they have to go.
“It’s a visual reminder to get some fruits and vegetables for the day,” said Dyer. “It’s very effective. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the parents.”
Teachers are noticing the results of the school’s push toward a healthier mindset, as well, said Schatzabel.
“Teachers are finally starting to realize how important movement is,” she said. “It makes all the difference in the world.”
— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 319, or at jlagasse@journaltribune.com.
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