VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Valley City State University football and volleyball players helped kick off ON THE MOVE for Students which is a 4-week program that runs in March for over 900 elementary students in Barnes County.
ON THE MOVE encourages K-grade 6 students to do at least 60 minutes of exercise on at least 5 days of the week. Physical activity is important for children as it has beneficial effects not only on body weight, but also on blood pressure, bone strength and academics including better grades, school attendance, and classroom behavior.
“The VCSU athletes did a wonderful job talking to the elementary students about the importance of daily physical activity and good eating habits,” said Andrea Winter, licensed registered dietitian at ON THE MOVE at City County Health District. “The athletes also led the students through a series of warm-up exercises that the athletes do each day at practice. The elementary students really enjoyed meeting these local celebrities and learning what it’s like to be on a college team!”
Only 21% of 6-19 year old children and adolescents in the United States reach the recommended 60 or more minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on at least 5 days per week.
“Most children have recess every day and gym at least every other day,” states Sharon Buhr, licensed registered dietitian and chair of ON THE MOVE, “but to reach the daily goal of 60 minutes, they need to be active outside of school as well. We encourage parents to get involved and do physical activity with their children in the evenings and on weekends, so that it’s fun for the whole family!”
Students who complete five days of 60-minute activity earn a ‘tennis shoe’ that is hung up on the school wall each week and receive a swim pass to the VC Parks and Recreation Community Swimming Pool to be used this summer. Also all the schools have a choice of taking their students to either the Gaukler Family Wellness Center pool or the Youth Sports Complex for a culminating activity in April.
The schools participating in ON THE MOVE this year include Barnes County North, Maple Valley, Litchville-Marion, and St. Catherine, Jefferson and Washington Schools in Valley City. ON THE MOVE for Students is sponsored by the Barnes ON THE MOVE Partnership (City County Health District is the managing partner while VCSU and VC Parks and Recreation are two of the 19 partners) and the North Dakota Dept. of Health.
Story and photo submitted by Andrea Winter of ON THE MOVE in Valley City.
