Plainfield Middle School Earns Second National Fitness Award

Submitted by Plainfield School District 202

Timber Ridge Middle School for the second straight year won the Let’s Move! Active Schools National Award for its focus on fitness before, during and after school.

The school is one of 525 from 37 states to be honored with the award in September. The Let’s Move Active Schools is a sub-initiative of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Campaign to encourage young people to become more active each day.

The award celebrates schools that commit to integrating at least 60 minutes of physical activity before, during and after school.

To earn the award, a school must have met benchmarks in five areas:

• Physical education
• Physical activity before- and after-school
• Physical activity during school
• Staff involvement
• Family and community engagement

Timber Ridge Physical Education and Health teacher Linda Reynolds applied for the award.

The physical education teachers start each class with running or walking and calisthenics to get students more focused on overall fitness, Reynolds said.

The award also has brought better awareness to nutrition including changes in what food is served in the lunchroom, added Timber Ridge Principal Dean Kariotakis.

“It’s about the whole” process of getting and staying healthy, Kariotakis said.

The award also goes hand-in-hand with the school’s involvement with the “Fuel up to Play 60” campaign.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a national nutrition and physical activity program launched by National Dairy Council and the National Football League, in collaboration with the USDA, to help encourage youths to lead more healthy lives through better diet and exercise.

“Hopefully we are turning out healthier people,” Reynolds said.