Fifth grade students jumped to the music playing in the gymnasium last Wednesday in their physical education class.
They were doing it for their health, and also for Jump Rope for Heart Week through the American Heart Association with the rest of the school.
“We try to represent healthy hearts and try to teach kids to be healthy,” explained Anthony Taormina, physical education teacher.
The students learned about heart beats, heart rates and how to stay healthy. They watched a short video from American Heart Association about how to keep their heart healthy. It also had scenarios about kids their age with heart problems and how the association helps them through funds raised with Jump Rope for Heart.
Taormina explained one of the best exercises for cardiovascular health is jumping rope.
As students jumped, they were also collecting donations for the American Heart Association to fund research for kids and adults.
The students wore pedometers while they jumped to keep count.
“We count the jumps and I will total the jumps from each class and see who had the most jumps,” said Taormina. “It is something fun for the kids to do.”
Once the jumps are calculated, the class with the most jumps at the end will have the Jump Rope for Heart 2013 banner in their classroom for a week.
~Wendi Reardon