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Campbell City Schools promotes healthy eating, physical activity through new course
By EMMALEE C. TORISK
CAMPBELL
This fall, 50 students will take the first steps toward living healthier, more active lives without leaving the confines of Campbell Memorial High School.
A $5,000 grant from Pioneering Healthier Communities Ohio is supporting the establishment of a semester-long introductory strength and weight-training course, just in time for the 2014-15 school year. The course itself, which will run for 50 minutes each school day, will involve learning not only in a traditional classroom setting, but also in the school’s weight room and gymnasium.
Brad Yeager, assistant high-school principal, said this course, intended for students in grades nine through 12, is the first true elective in the high school’s physical-education department. The only prerequisite is completion of the basic physical-education class that is mandatory for all students.
“It helps them realize that Campbell City Schools is not just a place to come for math, science, language arts and social studies,” said Yeager. “It’s another step in the right direction to offer as much as we can.”
The strength and weight-training course — which will emphasize healthful eating habits and productive physical activities that lower the risks of becoming obese and developing related diseases — is one of several new offerings across the school district.
Earlier this year, responses to a nonscientific survey distributed by Campbell City Schools revealed that most community members wanted to see more school-offered opportunities — among them, a wellness class. The district discovered it had been selected for the PHC Ohio funding in May.
According to its website, the PHC Ohio initiative works to address the statewide childhood obesity epidemic, and it promotes policy, systems and environmental change “to create fair opportunities for children to access healthy food and physical activity.” Between 30 and 34 percent of Ohio’s children from age 10 to 17 are overweight or obese.
Yeager said he understands that lack of access is an obstacle for many students.
“We’re going to try to offer as much as we can here at the school,” Yeager said.
With the grant, the district plans to purchase resistance-training bands for the weight room, along with various curriculum materials. Students’ progress throughout the course of the semester will be monitored.
The course, which primarily will emphasize “the proper techniques to start a healthy routine,” will be taught by Nick Canterino, a physical-education teacher at CMHS, Yeager added.
He noted that he’s hopeful the district’s wellness offerings will continue to expand — perhaps even with the addition of a more advanced strength and weight-training course.
Matthew Bowen, superintendent of Campbell City Schools, said he would “absolutely” like to see that happen. Though it’s important for students to fulfill their academic requirements for graduation, it’s also important for them to consider “their future well-being.” An elective offering such as the strength and weight-training course helps them to do that.
Having such a course may also have a positive on student attendance, along with students’ attitudes and readiness to learn, Bowen indicated.
“Students are more likely to become ready to learn when they are physically fit, when they learn about proper nutrition and when they have regular activity in their lives,” he said.