Jump Rope For Heart Grant Program
By Gary Spinney, JRFH/HFH State Coordinator

The 2006 Jump Rope for Heart Grant that I received made it possible for me to travel to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend the AAHPERD National Convention in 2006, and to receive a $1200.00 gift certificate from US Games to enrich my physical education program. What an outstanding experience I had while attending the AAHPERD National Conference. Together with several thousand colleagues in the allied fields of health, physical education, recreation, and dance, I attended various presentations, caught up with new developments in our area, received a Jump Rope for Heart Grant Award in front of lots of people, won an autographed picture of SF Quarterback Steve Young at a silent auction for $35.00, met and talked with many interesting people, and had an opportunity to visit the Arches National Park with a colleague, before returning to Maine.

I learned a great deal from the presentations I attended. I attended two presentations on Physical Activity (PA). Institute CEO, Steve Blair presented on “Physical Activity – How Much is Enough?” and Harvard Medical School researcher, I Min-Lee, presented a session on “The Important of Physical Activity”. I attended a different session by recently a retired Arizona State University Professor, Bob Pangrazi on “Active & Health Schools: A New Role for Physical Educators”. I also attended a few sessions on Technology in Physical Education: ” Where Does IT belong?” On the whole, I attended close to 45 hours of sessions. Thanks to the JRFH/Hoop Grant, the Salt Lake City convention provided me with an opportunity to reflect both upon my professional beliefs and upon the direction that Physical Education appears headed in the future.

I used the$1200.00 of the grant money that was designated for purchasing Physical Education equipment, to purchase pedometers from US Games for my physical education program. The purchase allowed our school another opportunity to achieve three of the primary goals of physical education, which is: (1) to teach children the benefits of physical activity, (2) to have students moving more often, and in due course (3) ‘turn them on’ to a lifetime of active participation. Students at Rockport Elementary are discovering that the pedometers they are using, offer an accurate way if used correctly, to monitor their physical activities during class and when they are active at home. At Rockport Elementary, we realize that with escalating obesity and physical inactivity nation wide, it is important for our students to monitor their physical activity and to have our students set their own fitness goals for improvement. Pedometers are great tools for our students to achieve their fitness goals.

Through the JRFH/Hoop Grant program, each of our fourth grade students has been given physical education home assignments based on the use of a pedometer that they borrow from our school. By having a pedometer to use, students have a wonderful opportunity to be active at school and outside of the school day. Pedometers are on loan to the students to enable them to reach their personal activity goals and in turn ultimately enable them to improve and maintain their physical fitness. The pedometers are fast becoming one of the best assessment tools in my physical education class. The use of pedometers emphasizes the importance of physical activity as well as the student’s physical well being to their parents. Students are using pedometers in Physical Education classes as well as for homework assignments aligned with the Maine Learning Results and the National Standards.

Apply for the AAHPERD JRFH/HFH Grant. If you are one of the recipients, the grant will afford you an opportunity of a life time to attend an AAHPERD National Conference and the grant money will make it possible for you to purchase physical education equipment to improve and to enhance your physical education program.