Getting girls active

Physical activity teacher Greg Scott and organizer of the week says with all the different things offered, the girls had a chance to choose what they felt comfortable with.

During the lunchtime period, the gym had activities such as badminton intramurals, volleyball and a slider class available to only the girls. After school was finished, aerobics, yoga and Zumba were offered.

“We had Jeff Walker come in to teach hip hop and jazz. So he was rocking it with about 30 students, it was a pretty popular one,” says Scott. “We had aerobics with Mitzie Kent, yoga with Ali Barclay, Zumba with Mary Anne Zinc.”

Despite the healthy living week falling just before March break, Scott says it was very successful and the girls seemed to really enjoy it.

“Students had assignments do, students are going away and had tests to study for, but really, we still had a great turnout,” he says.

The school does normally offer intramurals during the lunch period, but Scott says it is usually males participating. This was another reason he says he felt this week was good for the female population of the school.

“I don't know why, but there aren't that many girls in the gym participating in intramural time,” says Scott. “It may be a number of factors, but the after school programs were really beneficial to them because they were able to kind of open up and just go at their own pace, and not have to be rushed like during rush hour.”

“The huge benefit was they needed time for themselves, to have the opportunity to have a variety of choices that weren't the normal sports offered,” he adds.

Students grade 12 students Megan Brogan and Carly McConnell say Zumba on Thursday was a hard activity to do, but it was really fun.

“You don’t know what you like until you try it. I think it's important too that the girls realize it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are, fitness is important.” - Ceri Stewart, teacher

Brogan says the week was to help her and her peers understand the importance of staying active, and not just sitting around. "Sometimes it's hard to do sports stuff when it's guys too, so it was good to have just girls."

Participation in the activities offered didn’t stop with the students. Scott says teachers Ceri Stewart and Jackie Leonard were a big help in both getting the students involved and becoming involved themselves.

“It's nice to have some staff involved in these things with the students,” he says. “The students feel comfortable having the staff in there.”

Stewart took part in a Zumba session with a group of girls Thursday, March 10, and says it was a blast.

"I never did that before, and I wasn't that good at it either," she laughs. “You don’t know what you like until you try it. I think it's important too that the girls realize it doesn't matter who you are or how old you are, fitness is important.”

Stewart says learning that physical fitness is part of living a healthy lifestyle at a young age is something a wellness week helps contribute to.

“It's important because it gives them to experience different activities that are available for them to take part in,” she says. “It's a chance for them to see role models that actually participate in the activities and try new things. A chance for them to be together and enjoy it with other people, which is really important about physical fitness.”