Sandy Elementary families have fun getting fit together
Sandy Elementary’s Family Fitness Night is less about fitness and more about getting families in the school and community together for a fun, interactive evening out to play, laugh, have fun and sweat a little while doing it.
“The goal is to get family and students together and get the parents into the school,” Title 1 specialist and activity coordinator Roxanne Rawlings said. “A lot of times, parents aren’t able to come [to school activities] during the day, but it’s important to get the community into the school to see what we’re about and what we do here.”
Family Fitness Night was held Jan. 12 in the school’s gymnasium and led by PE teacher Phil Park. They started the night with some warm-up exercises, followed by stretching, and then the games and activities began.
One of the favorite activities was playing a game with ‘Bob the Ball.’ Players formed a large circle and ‘Bob the Ball’ was placed in the center. Each player then received a small sponge ball to throw, while keeping their feet planted. The object was to throw the small balls to bump ‘Bob the Ball’ into the opposing team’s side of the circle. This was done after Park shouted an energetic “One. Two. Three. Go.” and off they went.
This is the fourth year of Family Fitness Night which started out with only 60 in attendance.
This year, the school had more than 250 participate.
“The best part is watching the kids and their happy faces just being at school with their families,” Rawlings said. “It’s just been so fun to watch this develop and see more and more come.”
Parents also dove right in to the activities and made the most out of the night for their kids.
“If it’s a family thing, then it’s easier for families to get fit together and stay healthy,” parent Yvonne Earl said.
With funding from Title 1 (a federal funding program under the Elementary Education Act to financially assist schools with high percentages of students from low-income families), it becomes possible to plan and carry out activities such as these to get the community more involved in the lives of the students attending the school.
“As a Title 1 school, part of our mission is to have family development,” Principal Sandy Dahl-Houlihan said. “And this is just a great way to get them all together, have a little fun and give them a treat.”
In addition to Family Fitness Night, Sandy Elementary staff invites families to attend their upcoming events: Literacy Night on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. as well as Family Math Night on Thursday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m.
