Hallowell Elementary Students "Walk This Way" To Life-Long Healthy Habits

HORSHAM – Hallowell Elementary Kindergartner Raymond Adams smiled as he sauntered along Moreland Avenue one recent morning.

“I like to look at the flowers and trees,” he said. “And the nice houses! Don’t forget those.”

Fostering that kind of joy about exercise was just one part of the mission of Hallowell’s “Walk This Way Day 2014” – an Oct. 1 event designed by Hallowell staff and partners from the Montgomery County Health Department, Horsham Fire Department and Horsham Police Department to “reinforce the message of healthy living,” said Principal Steven Glaize. “We only have our kids until they’re 10. Then they have the rest of their lives to live,” he said. Glaize hoped Walk This Way Day would help convey some of the best ways to live a healthy life: Exercise. Eat well. Stay safe. “We have to plant the seeds for developing healthy habits,” he said.

Raymond’s fifth-grade Walk partners, Aidan McAleer and Logan Fischer, got the message. “I think it’s very important, so that when we get older, we’ll try and be fit,” said Logan. “It helps our bodies stay healthy,” Aidan added.

Students from every grade walked in groups along a loop between the school at 200 Maple Ave. and Sansoni’s Farm Market at 130 Meetinghouse Road. They stopped at stations along the way for mini-lessons on bicycle and traffic safety, wearing seatbelts and stranger danger. At Sansoni’s they devoured their lesson on healthy snacks. The market donated fresh apples and bottled water.

Glaize said Walk This Way Day stemmed from the national Walk to School Day effort, but because about half of Hallowell’s students already walk every day, Hallowell’s event needed more. The annual event has previously been limited to school grounds. Organizers thought the opportunity to walk with friends while learning and the addition of the police and firefighters would make the event even more popular with students. Plus, the additional health and wellness lessons tie in to year-round efforts at Hallowell, where physical education and health teacher Eric Glemser, literacy specialist Tami Eldridge and third-grade teacher Nicole Miletto volunteer to lead interested students through the early morning exercises. Hallowellness, it’s called. About 50 students participated last year, and this year’s sessions begin soon.

Glaize cited both national research and research collected by Hallowell teachers, showing students who exercise before tests perform better academically. This year, all Hallowell teachers give students a few minutes for short “brain breaks” and exercise near their desks before standardized tests.

School Counselor Valerie Scott calls these bursts of exercise “brain breaks.” Physical activity helps improve student’s focus, she said.

At her Walk This Way station, Montgomery County Health Department Educator Pat Fallon focused on keeping students’ brains safe.

“Who can tell me the most important thing to do when riding a bike?” she asked. “Wear a helmet!” the students shouted back.

Horsham Township Police Sgt. Connie Johnson advised them to turn to “good strangers” like firefighters and police officers for help, but beware of “bad strangers” – people they don’t know who may start trying to talk to them. “Run away!” she said. And if that doesn’t work “yell, scream, kick, bite. If you have a cell phone, call 911. You don’t even have to say anything – we can tell where you are.”

Horsham Township Firefighters did a Jaws of Life show-n-tell, explaining to students how the tool is used to rescue people trapped in cars. Firefighter/Medic Mike Riley said he hoped if any student were involved in an accident and saw the jaws, they would remember what they saw that day and know they are going to be safe.

Sansoni’s rest stop strategically followed a session of jumping jacks and burpees – aka, squat thrusts. Fifth-grader Luan Lopes, Kindergartner Alejandra Roberts-Alston, and fifth-grader Matt Bartie were so into it, they sometimes went airborne.

Taking a breather on hay bales at Sansoni’s with their kindergarten partner Noah Haber, fifth-graders Maireade Madison and Dallas Hallston said they’d never done a burpee before.

“They were kinda hard, but kinda fun,” Maireade said.

Photo caption:

Exercise: Fifth-grader Luan Lopes, Kindergartner Alejandra Roberts-Alston, and fifth-grader Matt Bartie got into the jumping jacks during an exercise session at Hallowell Elementary’s “Walk This Way Day.”