September 30, 2004
The Kings Mountain Herald
Page 5A
Rh rates
SR
Kings MOUNTAIN SCHOOLS
Ci
PE classes
hope to curb
child obesity
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
With childhood obesity
believed to be on the rise
nationwide, school officials
are looking toward physical
education classes as part of
the solution.
At North Elementary, 35
to 50 kids participate in after
school PE, running and vol-
leyball clubs. PE teacher
Kathy James started with a
running club four years ago.
Since then the after school
activities have grown to
four days a week.
James believes if kids are
offered options beyond tele-
vision, they’ll eagerly partic-
ipate.
“They like to play,” she
said.
At one point, James
feared she was asking her
running club members to
run too long of a distance.
When she tried to shorten
the runs and add some field
activities the students
objected.
Some teachers are lacing
up their sneakers and hit-
ting the track with the stu-
dents. James says this is a
big hit with the kids and
promotes wellness for
instructors.
James says few of the
school’s students are over-
weight. She discourages
dieting for the ones who
have not lost baby fat.
Instead, James recommends
a healthy diet, more activity
and eliminating soft drinks.
James wants her students
to find some form of exer-
cise they enjoy. This encour-
ages good lifetime fitness
habits.
“It doesn’t matter what it
is, it’s so you can stay
healthy,” she said.
James hopes to incorpo-
rate X-Box into her PE class-
es. Students will move their
feet along with the video
screen. James believes this
will especially interest kids
who enjoy computer games.
She teaches her students
why fitness is important.
They also take their pulse
to see if they are exercising
at their target heart rates.
Cleveland County Schools
officials are now studying
system-wide physical edu-
cation requirements though
no policy has been set yet.
Locally, students at
Bethware Elementary have
three 30-minute sessions
with a physical education
instructor and two 20-
minute recesses with their
classroom teacher each
week.
1310 E. Dixon Hive. Shelby, NC
DIVORCE? BANKRUPTCY?
CREDIT PROBLEMS
OF ALL KINDS.....
see MIIKE GALVIN
“The Loan Arranger”
We Can Help You Buy The Car
You Want & Put You Back On
The Road To Good Credit!
107044840049
Ask for Mike. Don’t Delay, Call Today!
Kings Mountain Middle
School students are assigned
to a 41 minute physical edu-
cation/health class each day.
Health and Physical
Education I is a graduation
requirement at Kings
Mountain High School.
Eight additional PE classes
are offered including swim-
ming and water safety, Cross
training and men’s and
women’s weight lifting.
All Cleveland County
Schools are working on
school improvement plans.
At Grover Elementary the
planning team has dis-
cussed some fitness specific
components including a
goal of 150 minutes per
week of PE, promotion of a
healthy lifestyle by teaching
muscle strengthening activi-
ties, instruction in building
cardiovascular endurance
and grade appropriate
health and nutrition instruc-
tion. Another possible com-
ponent is not taking away
PE as punishment.
Grover, Bethware and
North students all partici-
pate in the President's
Physical Fitness test.
The North Carolina State
Board of Education has
adopted a Healthy Active
Children policy which must
be in place by the 2006-2007
academic year. The policy
mandates each school dis-
trict establish and maintain
a local School Health
Advisory Council to plan,
implement and monitor the
policy.
The state recommends
elementary students partici-
pate in a minimum of 150
minutes of physical activity
each week and 225 minutes
for middle schoolers. This
should include a minimum
of PE every other day
throughout the school year.
Classes should be the same
size as regular classes.
The policy does not man-
date the amount of time but
does say “appropriate
amounts of recess and phys-
ical activity shall be provid-
ed for students.” The policy
also reads the “physical
activity required by this sec-
tion must involve physical
exertion of at least a moder-
ate intensity level and for a
duration sufficient to pro-
vide a significant health
benefit to students.”
The policy mandates that
structured recess and other
physical activity not be
taken away as punishment.
Andie Brymer can be
reached at
abrymer@kingsmountain-
herald.com or 704-739-7496.
Students have
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
At area schools, requests
for grilled chicken and chef
salads are up. Milk and 100
percent fruit juice are popu-
lar.
“They are more health
conscious. They ask for
healthier stuff,” said Jada
Brown, child nutrition direc-
tor.
The healthier requests
come from males and
females and while mostly
older students, some ele-
mentary students are asking
too. Brown credits their
interests to television and
classroom discussions of
nutrition.
Under new nutrition
guidelines, crackers and
cake products were removed
from elementary and inter-
mediate schools. Those
products were replaced with
snacks like gold fish crack-
ers, rice crispie treats and
pretzels. Middle and high
school students can choose
between the traditionally
offered snacks and the new
items.
All schools have Winner's
Circle options at lunch.
These foods must be below
30 percent fat and below 10
percent saturated fat and be
low in sodium.
One percent and skim
milk, available in plain or
chocolate, has replaced
whole milk. One hundred
percent juices and flavored
and unflavored waters also
are available.
“The children have been
excited,” Brown said of the
changes.
Locally, sweet and
unsweetened tea is only
served at the high school.
Kings Mountain Middle
School doesn't offer tea to
students but other middle
schools in the county do.
Salad dressings only come
in the fat free variety.
Cookies are smaller. Kings
Mountain High School is the
only school across the sys-
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Michael Stiles picks up his lunch in the cafeteria at
Kings Mountain High School. Across the Cleveland County
Schools system, healthier options are on the menu.
tem to still have deep fat
friers. These will be
removed for the next school
year.
While few students have
asked Brown for vegetarian
options, she expects this diet
will increase in popularity.
Students are not required to
purchase an entree, instead
they may buy CA
fruit, a vegetable and bread.
A peanut butter and jelly
sandwich and fat free yogurt
are offered also.
Students requesting vege-
tarian or vegan meals must
complete a medical form.
Federal law keeps stu-
dents from purchasing soda
or candy until after lunch is
served. Machines selling
those products are operated
by the individual schools,
not the child nutrition
department. :
Kings Mountain High
School Nurse Jacquie Burr
MEDITATION
From 4A
status; because of the way he dealt with his limitations. And
Paul is not alone in this. There have been others. For exam-
ple, the great scientist Pasteur had a paralytic stroke when
he was just 46 years old, yet it is upon his titanic work that
much of contemporary medicine rests. Or consider
Beethoven, who wrote his music even though he was deaf.
And then there was Milton, who composed his poetry even
though he was blind.
For many people a hero is someone who possesses
power, skill or influence, but for me a hero is someone who
rises above profound weakness. I believe all of us can learn
from such heroes, because they deal courageously with
their limitations and, like Paul, they rest upon the grace of
God. It may not make us heroes, but I'm convinced that
resting upon the all-sufficient grace of God is the only way
to make it in this life.
Rev. Jeff Hensley is the pastor of Kings Mountain
Baptist Church.
\ [KATHRYN
Fundraiser & Fish Fry
al Masonic Lodge
N. Main Street Boiling Springs, NC
Thursday, October 14th
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Tickets: 315 at the event
For information or tickets, call 704-434-5635.
Everyone is invited!
Performing will be
The Flint Hill Bluegrass Band
Door Prizes!
Kathryn speaks at 7:30
Directions: At the stop light in Boiling Springs, go north on Main Street -
Masonic Lodge on the left.
Paid for by the Kathryn Hamrick for NC House Committee
Whe healthier options
but wants to see higher fat
foods removed.
“I'm concerned they've
not taken out bad options,”
she said.
Many students still eat
pizza and fries daily, accord-
ing to Burr. Sugary drinks
also concern her. She points
to some states that have
completely banned
machines dispensing these.
The rising rate of obesity
among students worries
Burr. Students who want
help work with her and a
registered dietician, howev-
er success stories are few.
“Someone has to really
want that themselves,” Burr
said.
Dress your bedroom
in designer Jaslionst
ou oh 5
LUXURY pu NS FOR LESS
114 Cone Street Cherryville
(Behind Medical Center Pharmacy)
704-477-3372
healthier food choices
She points to one study
which indicates four percent
of all young people diag-
nosed with diabetes in 1990
had Type II or adult onset
diabetes. Today, between 30
and 50 percent of youngsters
diagnosed with the disease
have Type IL
Type II diabetes is typical-
ly linked to eating too many -
simple carbohydrates and ~~ «
not enough exercise. $
On the other end of the =:
spectrum, Burr has only i
seen one case of anorexia,
though she says that doesn’t {
mean more students don’t
have the problem. Some
may be getting care through
a private physician.
When Brown visits class- :
rooms, she lets students
design a menu for one day’s
lunch at their school. Some
of the most popular items
are cheeseburgers, pizza,
vegetable soup, oranges and
watermelon.
A few Kings Mountain
High School talked about
school lunches with the
Herald last week.
Robert Lowery would like
to see more variety, especial-
ly from different cultures.
Maria Herndon usually
chooses from the plate line
instead of a la carte. A veg-
etable lover, Herndon does-
n't eat red meat for health
reasons. Sometimes she'll
skip lunch to avoid calories.
Herndon wishes the cafete-
ria would serve V-8 juice.
Dustin Wilson describes
himself as an anti-vegetari-
an. He finds vegetables
bland preferring meat and
fruit, especially pineapple.
Tuqura Hart often eats
chicken nuggets and usually
has a Gatorade. Stacey
McSwain could not be called
a picky eater.
“I like everything except
squash,” she said.
Ann Maries
On Main Street
AFFORDABLE
Resale Shop
Women's, Children’s
clothing. Household Items
W-F 10-5 Sat 8-3
608 S. Main St., Clover
(803) 222-5646
Quality Buildings
998 West Pine Street, Mount Airy, NC
Wooden & Metal Buildings
Starting @ Only
*595
Carports Starting @ Only *695
FINANCING AVAILABLE
WE WILL BEAT COMPETITOR PRICES!
(336)786-6070 * (800)597-5520 » Fax (336)786-7975
Meet
J uanita Go forth...
Place for five years. Juanita TL a very caring and open.
: smile with everyone she meets. A life-long resident of Ki
Mountain, she taught high school English her
- yedrs. Her husband is Ben T. Goforth, who form
Goforth Plumbing; Come by and see our
hello to a favorite Kings Mountain
A
|SUMMIT PLACE
assisted living
¢ : ditctly across the street from Kings Mountain Middle. School eS
1001 Phifer Road, Kings Mountain * 704- 739- 6772