Stella students begin Walk across America

Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, November 16, 2006
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, November 18, 2006

Stella Niagara eighth-graders Bret Hoover and Anthony Chef get into
the spirit of things during the Walk Across America pep rally.

“It’s your life. You’re it. Get fit.” These words are from The President’s Challenge, which has helped motivate millions of Americans each year to get active and stay active.

Students at Stella Niagara Education Park are participating in The Walk Across America program, which is designed to promote physical activity as a way of life and to encourage students to be more conscious of their overall health and nutrition. Students will also learn about each state capital as they travel from Lewiston to Sacramento, Calif.

At a recent pep rally, Stella Niagara students, teachers and faculty received pedometers to track their steps each week. This trek across the 50 states will require 21,452,000 steps or 3,200 miles on a predetermined route. Stella Niagara’s faculty, which started “stepping” a week earlier, logged more than 914,000 steps to allow students to begin at the state capital, Albany. One teacher, Mrs. Keppler, logged almost 70,000 steps in four days as part of the Teacher/Faculty Challenge.

“Remember, this is not about being a winner or loser,” Mrs. Shawna Macfarlane, SNEP parent and Walk Across America coordinator, said. “This is about being a part of a team when we cross the finish line.”

During the school year, students will track their steps during school, and when playing outside at recess, participating in gym/swim, or at home when doing physical activities.

“This particular program helps assess the current fitness of participating students and teachers, and encourages them to stay active,” SNEP physical education teacher Jill Siford, said. “We believe that participation will lead to better health, but also to healthier decisions throughout their lives.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, adolescents establish patterns of behavior and make lifestyle choices that affect both their current and future health during the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Teaching students about health and fitness enables them to develop the competence and confidence to effectively apply critical skills to a variety of health-related situations. Studies show that students who learn, practice and apply the skills they’ve learned will enhance their personal health and fitness. It’s also important that one’s peers and family support and encourage the proper skills to promote a safe and healthy lifestyle.

“Health is not just a subject we teach at Stella Niagara, it is a way of life,” Siford said. “Our program encompasses more than academics, it is a holistic nurturing of the intellectual, physical, social and spiritual development of young children.”

SNEP second-graders Kerstin Crum and Camille Bennett hold their pep rally
sign “High 5 Stella Pride,” as Montessori student Lorena Zucco looks on.