Help us Re-open the School's Swimming Pool
Due to the budget cuts of 2012 the swimming pool was shut down. As a result students are no longer receiving the physical fitness training provided by access to the weekly swimming program.
When most adults think about exercise, they imagine working out in the gym on a treadmill or lifting weights.
But for kids, exercise means playing and being physically active. Kids exercise when they have gym class at school, during recess, at dance class or soccer practice, while riding bikes, or when playing tag, and at the Chequamegon Public School kids would routinely swim in the pool. However this activity is no longer available due to the recent wave of budget cuts. The 2012 referendum failed to raise the additional $400,000 necessary to retain several key elements necessary to support student health and wellness. Among several teachers and cuts to other programs the district lost an elementary gym teacher and the swimming pool was closed. This is tragic. Studies show that active kids become active adults. Did you know that the percentage of overweight children and adolescents in the US has nearly tripled since the early 1970’s? More than one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 are now considered overweight.
Childhood obesity has been linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and poor academic performance. Teachers have a unique opportunity to instill lifelong health and fitness habits in students through nutritional education, gym activities, yoga, and even purposeful play at recess. Many schools, however, lack the basic equipment needed to bring these initiatives to life.1
You can help. By making a tax-deductible donation your support will go directly towards the efforts currently under way to re-open the swimming pool, a much needed heart healthy activity for our kids.
When most adults think about exercise, they imagine working out in the gym on a treadmill or lifting weights.
But for kids, exercise means playing and being physically active. Kids exercise when they have gym class at school, during recess, at dance class or soccer practice, while riding bikes, or when playing tag, and at the Chequamegon Public School kids would routinely swim in the pool. However this activity is no longer available due to the recent wave of budget cuts. The 2012 referendum failed to raise the additional $400,000 necessary to retain several key elements necessary to support student health and wellness. Among several teachers and cuts to other programs the district lost an elementary gym teacher and the swimming pool was closed. This is tragic. Studies show that active kids become active adults. Did you know that the percentage of overweight children and adolescents in the US has nearly tripled since the early 1970’s? More than one in five children between the ages of 6 and 17 are now considered overweight.
Childhood obesity has been linked to diabetes, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and poor academic performance. Teachers have a unique opportunity to instill lifelong health and fitness habits in students through nutritional education, gym activities, yoga, and even purposeful play at recess. Many schools, however, lack the basic equipment needed to bring these initiatives to life.1
You can help. By making a tax-deductible donation your support will go directly towards the efforts currently under way to re-open the swimming pool, a much needed heart healthy activity for our kids.