American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance - AAHPERD

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

DC's Turner Elementary Selected as First Let's Move in School Champion School

RESTON, VA, October 19, 2012--- Turner Elementary School in southeast Washington, DC has been selected as the first Let's Move in School Champion School dedicated to helping students meet the nationally recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). As a champion school, Turner will receive resources from NASPE/AAHPERD and its corporate sponsors to implement a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) where student and staff physical activity will be increased before, during and after school. To celebrate, Turner will be feted with a Let's Move in School Showcase on Friday, October 26, from 1-3 PM with 150 physical educations students, featuring special guests Tyson Gay, World Medal Champion Sprinter and "superstar" to The Century Council's Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don't Mix program, and Shellie Pfohl, executive director of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. Follow the buzz on Twitter by using the Hashtag:#lmis. Be sure to use the hash tag in all of your messages.

Tyson Gay says, "I always tell students they need to make the right decisions at an early age. As an athlete, I've worked hard to get where I am today and know that if I made poor decisions as a kid I may not be where I am. All of these kids can be successful, whether it's in their community, through academics or in their sport. As an ambassador for the Ask, Listen, Learn program, I really want to remind them that to be successful they need to stand strong for what they believe in, avoid poor decisions and say no to underage drinking."

"One thing I've learned through my Olympic career is running, jumping and throwing are fundamental skills that unite the world in lifelong activity and play," says Olympic winning track & field athlete Carl Lewis, a longtime ambassador to the HERSHEY'S Track & Field program. "That is why I'm proud to work with HERSHEY'S Track & Field Games – the longest running youth activity program of its kind in North America. HERSHEY provides a great program (and free equipment) for schools to increase physical activity before, during or after school. Registration to organize a 2013 event is open now; go online and sign up."  

Turner Elementary, located in Ward 8, was recently renovated as part of the city's on-going multi-million dollar effort to update schools and provide students with high quality learning environments. As part of the $27 million dollar facelift, the school received a new gym, basketball court, and play field with a track, among other technology-driven classroom additions. The principal is Robert Gregory and the physical education teacher is Jeremy Keys.

"The pressure placed on students to do better academically and on our nation as a whole to live healthier more active lifestyles has never been greater," says AAHPERD President Irene Cucina from Plymouth State University, N.H. "We are so pleased to enhance the building renovations by giving the staff, from the physical educator to the language arts teacher to the principal, the tools they need to incorporate more movement into the students' day."

Students from neighboring Johnson Middle and Ballou High Schools will also participate in the event, participating in a variety of physical activities that can be infused into the school day during a morning announcement, classroom breaks, or as after school activities. Students will run, jump, and dance to the beat of activities led by representatives from the country's leading organizations which focus on helping students and communities live healthier more active lifestyles. Let's Move in School and showcase sponsors include Ask, Listen, Learn, HERSHEY's Track & Field Games, Konami, Playcore, Playworld Systems, Polar, Skillastics and US Tennis Association.

Showcase Highlights

USTA
Who will be the next Andy Roddick or Serena Williams? By showcasing its "USTA School Tennis" program, USTA is introducing tennis to a broad range of young people. To learn how you can bring it to your school, visit the USTA.

Konami
Konami, the makers of the new DanceDanceRevolution® Classroom Edition, will lead an innovative activity session filled with dance, vibrant graphics and the latest pop music to engage an entire class in fun and fitness. For information on bringing Dance Dance Revolution into your school, visit Konami.

Skillastics
Skillastics® is a series of standards-based, fitness and sport-specific activity kits that allows up to 100 children at a time of varying ages and fitness levels to participate and enjoy being active. To get your students moving, visitSkillastics.

HERSHEY'S Track & Field Classroom Activity Breaks
The HERSHEY's Run, Jump & Throw energizer stations are 60-second ideas for teachers to increase activity during the school day. Activities incorporate modified running, jumping, and throwing motions that will give students a burst of activity during the day. For more information, visit HERSHEY'S Track & Field Games.

Polar
Helping people improve their physical performance is at the heart of Polar. Select students will wear an activity and heart rate monitor during the showcase and the data will be shared on the big screen to highlight the benefits. Visit Polar for more information.

Ask, Listen, Learn
Developed more than seven years ago, Ask, Listen, Learn is the most widely distributed alcohol education program of its kind. Ask Listen, Learn encourages kids to "say 'YES' to a healthy lifestyle and 'NO' to underage drinking" by offering kids interactive and educational games and videos. To learn more, visit Ask, Listen, Learn.

National Geographic Kids Run for the Planet
Let's Move in School has teamed up National Geographic Kids to help set a new Guinness World Record on the largest number of people to run 100 meters in 24 hours. Carl Lewis will rally the students to break the record. To find out how to run a local event, visit Run for the Planet.

Name the LMIS Mascot
Let's Move in School would not be as cool as it is without the new mascot. AAHPERD will share the top two name choices during the showcase, leaving the final decision to the kids. The name receiving the loudest applause will be the mascot's official new name!

The LMIS showcase will also include special guests; current and past national and district physical education teachers of the year including Cindy Ferek, Sabra Szczyglowski, Dee Castelvecchi, and Pfohl from the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition (PCFSN) who will discuss the newly launched Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

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Contact:
Paula Kun
pkun@aahperd.org
703-476-3461

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About Let’s Move in School
A national initiative to increase physical activity before, during and after school, Let’s Move in School is in support of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign and is a project of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) More than 7200 schools are currently signed up for Let’s Move in School. To learn ways to increase physical activity, go to: Let's Move in School, www.letsmoveinschool.org.

The vision of AAHPERD is "Healthy People – Physically Educated and Physically Active!" Headquartered in Reston, VA, 25 miles west of Washington, DC, AAHPERD is the largest organization of professionals involved in physical education, physical activity, dance, school health and sport--all specialties related to achieving an active, healthy lifestyle. Its mission is to advance professional practice and promote research related to health and physical education, physical activity, dance and sport by providing its members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources, support and programs to help practitioners improve their skills to further the health and well-being of the American public. For more information, visit www.aahperd.org.