Let’s Move! program: letsmove.gov. Dyer Elementary information: gwinnett.k12.ga.us/DyerES.
Finding time to fit fitness into a daily routine can be a challenge for kids and adults alike. It’s a particularly tough task for physical education teachers who often find their classes cut back in favor of more academic requirements. But one school in Gwinnett County has taken the approach that fitness doesn’t just happen in the gym: It can easily blend into a classroom or a school yard.
Kristen Hewitt, the phys ed teacher at Dyer Elementary in Dacula for the last 13 years, has been tackling the problem of student fitness by finding ways to incorporate movement and activity into times when students aren’t in her care.
“Students have gym once a week for 45 minutes,” she said. “So I encourage them to sign up for neighborhood sports to get moving.”
Hewitt has also worked with the PTA and principal to improve the playground equipment, which makes being active more attractive to the youngsters. “We got swings put in on the playground and a track around the field,” she said. “But we’re always trying to get more equipment.”
A running club was organized as part of the after school program, and Hewitt also got other teachers involved in by setting up individual accounts for them on Go Noodle, an online site loaded with suggestions on how to be physical activity in short bursts of time.
“On rainy days when we have indoor recess, kids can exercise in the classroom with these activities,” said Hewitt. “Even after a long lesson, they can get up and do all kinds of movement in the classroom.”
The website also has yoga for kids, and Hewitt encourages students to send her videos of themselves working out at home. “Then I show my classes what I got, and more of them want to send me stuff,” she said with a laugh. “Every day, I get at least 20 new things.”
The school’s commitment to physical activity recently paid off when Dyer was named a 2015 Let’s Move! Active Schools national award winner - one of 527 in the nation and the only one in Gwinnett to be recognized by the Presidential Challenge program for getting kids involved in at least 60 minutes of physical activity before, during and after school. The honor also noted support from the staff and student families, and that the school had done an exceptional job of addressing healthy eating habits as well.
“In the cafeteria, we restructured the offerings from a four-week to three-week rotation, so things that are more popular are now on the menu more frequently,” said Michael DiFilippo, Dyer’s principal for the last four years. “And after being on a waiting list, we finally got a salad bar around Thanksgiving, and everyone from parents and students to teachers has been excited about that. We could not have earned this award without the help of Kristen Hewitt and Shelli-Ann Jackson, Dyer’s PTA Health and Wellness committee chair.”
The Let’s Move! Award gives Hewitt access to a variety of grants for equipment. She also split a $1,000 check with the cafeteria, and with part of her funds, she purchased Spike ball games - an indoor activity akin to volleyball that uses little trampolines to bounce the ball.
“The kids are very into that!” said Hewitt. “But they’re still excited about getting outside and playing when they can.”
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