Granton Interim Administrator and Phy Ed Teacher Discuss Keeping Kids Healthy and Active

Tuesday, January 5th, 2021 -- 12:27 PM

The Granton School District is working to keep kids active and healthy.

I spoke with Interim Administrator James Kuchta and Granton’s PreK-12 Phy Ed and Health teacher Angela Schier about the upcoming Kids Heart Challenge Program.

Mr. Kuchta:  “We’re happy to be back here!  We’re in full session at Granton Area Schools and I’d like to introduce our PreK-12 Physical Education Health Teacher, Miss Angela Schier, and ask her to tell us a little bit about herself and a program that she’s doing.”

Angela:  “I’ve been at Granton School for 7 years now.  I teach K-12 Phy Ed and Middle School Health.  I am also the Pool Director and in charge of our fabulous summer swimming program, which I hope that we can continue this summer after all the crazy calms down!”

“I’m very excited to tell you about our Kids Heart Challenge Program that we have coming up.  Most of you who are older will know it as the Jump Rope for Heart.  A year ago they changed the name because, I think, they realized that, as schools, we do so much physical activity wise and health wise.  It’s not just jumping rope and just phy ed class, it’s really an entire school that comes together to promote healthy living.”

“So, at the end of the month, we will have our kick off, which is usually an assembly.  This year the assembly will be virtual, but it will still be as fabulous as ever.  And then, throughout the month of February, every day the kids who are both in school and virtual will have challenges to complete and some resources to look at about how to stay healthy from now throughout the rest of their life."

"It’s a great program.  Like I said, for us it brings the whole school together.  We run it K-12.  Usually our high school classes join our middle and elementary classes and the students help lead some of the activities that we have that month.”

Question:  “During this time of the coronavirus, what are some examples or ways parents can help keep their kids active, especially during the winter months?”

Angela:  “There are a lot of great online resources that we use.  The American Heart Association, who is in charge of the Kids Heart Challenge, have free videos that you can look up on Youtube that give great confined space activities for kids to do."

"They also have different resources like recipes and things to help kids outside of the physical activity aspect to stay healthy.  We found another great program called Cosmic Kids Yoga.  It’s one of those activities that you can do in a smaller space like a living room or bedroom."

"It gets the kids up and moving and that program is really nice because it also has those aspects focusing on relaxation and meditation and things to help those kids that are having a harder day just introspect, relax, and be able to restart.”

Mr. Kuchta:  “Miss Schier teaches all age levels at Granton Schools.  PreK all the way through high school.  And some of the things that I’ve seen her doing with the students include different indoor activities like bowling and badminton and this yoga program that she’s talked about."

"There’s a lot of creativity that goes into that.  Plus, I know there are different outdoor activities that Miss Schier could talk about that people can do like snowshoeing, skiing, even jogging outside with the mild weather coming up in the 30’s this week.”

Angela:  “Exactly!  We love to go snowshoeing, cross country skiing, even just throwing on a pair of boots and hiking in the snow is a fabulous way to get your heart rate up.  I know there are a lot of summer activities that kids could do with their siblings, like kick ball or ultimate frisbee that are very fun in the snow.  Who doesn’t love to fall in a pile of snow while trying to catch a ball?”

Question:  “Are these activities a good way for parents to stay active too?”

Angela:  “Yes, completely!  All the activities, like I said, can be done at home and they’re all things that kids from Kindergarten to grown adults can do together.  And it would be a great bonding experience for families that are stuck at home virtually.”

Mr. Kuchta:  “I know one of the things that Miss Schier also does is test the students health and she uses the Pacer.”

Angela:  “Yes, the Pacer followed the FitnessGram testing, what used to be the Presidential Fitness Test.  So, we run the Pacer, which is basically Killers, but you follow a steady metronome beat that slowly gets faster and faster and faster."

"So, it tests your aerobic capacity, your heart's ability to keep moving consistently while picking up the pace.  The students also perform push ups, sit ups, they do a sit and reach to test their flexibility."

"And then, with the middle and high school students, we look at their height and weight and, in high school specifically, we actually test their BMI (Body Mass Index), which looks at their fat to water to muscle percentage in their bodies.”

Mr. Kuchta:  “I know Miss Schier likes to educate the students on what a good BMI is and to monitor that early on in life.  And one of the things I recall too, from physical education, is hitting a target heart rate and there’s a formula.  What is that formula again?”

Angela:  “It’s a little complex formula, but you can find it online.  I believe it’s 220 minus your age times your resting heart rate.  But yes, there is a mathematical equation that we do look at in class."

"The students learn how to calculate it themselves so they can see what their Body Mass Index is and then we look at a graph with where they should be, where we want them to be, etc.”

Mr. Kuchta:  “There was also a program that was done earlier this year, actually, just before the holidays that I’d love Miss Schier to talk about.  It was actually coordinated through Miss Vantassel in Spain and I watched a video over the holidays that Miss Vantassel and Miss Schier worked on this dance thing together and our students in Granton, along with students all over the world, were involved in.”

Angela:  “I don’t know as much as Miss Vantassel because she is the one who coordinated it, but for me it was the new version of the ChaCha Slide that people have been videotaping themselves performing this!"

"But the theme is that you record yourself doing this dance and then you upload the video and you share it with others around the world, so Miss Vantassel, our Spanish Teacher who is currently in Spain working there as well, they had all of their students perform the dance and then we had my physical education students and our spanish students here perform the dance."

"We videotaped them and then we mashed the two together and posted it online as a great collaboration, not just between classes at our own school, but with classes all over the world.”

Question:  “That’s awesome!  Granton School District going international!”

Mr. Kuchta:  “Watching that video was really great to see because you could see all these different kids all over the world performing this Jerusalem Dance and then here’s our Granton kids in our gymnasium and our students in spanish class that did this ChaCha or Jerusalem Slide Dance!”

Question:  “Anything else that either of you would like to highlight?”

Angela:  “Our Kids Heart Challenge we do every other year.  Our fitness testing we do with every single class.  Throughout the year all of our classes participate in different indoor and outdoor sports and when we can collaborate with other classrooms, like with the Jerusalem Dance, we definitely join in and have some fun."

"Especially if there’s that physical activity side of it then I love our kids to do it.  I know when Miss Vantassel was teaching here, we collaborated and the spanish/some of the finance students worked together to raise funds to go to different countries like Costa Rica as a school trip."

"And I know in Costa Rica they did a lot of physical activity things like zip lining and white water rafting.  So that was a great opportunity for our kids to get involved and get our and see the world.”

Mr. Kuchta:  “I’d like to thank Miss Schier for talking about the physical education/health program here at Granton.  She does a fabulous job with our kids and promoting health with our staff as well.”

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.