What do leaping lizards, smoothies, and veggie sales have in common? Healthy living! And the fact they are all part of Langdale Elementary School's most serious commitment to foster positive life-long habits of healthy eating and physical activity in their children.
With our younger generations encountering alarming rates of childhood obesity and after-school 'idleness' in front of video games and TV, the teachers and administration at Langdale are not just believers in the premise that physically active children will feel better about themselves, make healthier choices and perform better at school - they are doers. The sale of vegetables and dip instead of brownies and cupcakes raises oodles of money for field trips. The exquisite art of smoothie making is taught in class. Reading and interpreting food labels is de rigeur, and the entire school participates in a fitness run twice a week. The run is a two km circuit that at least a dozen budding athletes (as young as seven) are keen enough and now fit enough to jog twice before lunch. Every morning without fail, intermediates and primaries alike join together in the gymnasium for 20 minutes of flexibility, strength and endurance exercises. They learn the importance of vigorous activity and know they have achieved it once their hearts are racing faster than the kids on the soccer field at recess and lunch. On top of all the violin stretches, knee bops and tummy crunches, every teacher has a daily time-slot to pursue their regular P.E. program. After school, the gym remains full with a rich extra-curricular sports program. How do you deal with 26 girls who want to play on the volleyball team? You let them, all of them, is the coach's philosophy. Has any of this paid off in terms of children making healthier choices? Well, one Sunday a few weeks ago, Langdale won, yet again, the award for greatest student participation at the Subaru 4x4 Relay Event in Gibsons. Of the school's 144 students, 11 teams formed and entered, several teams more than schools with twice Langdale's population.
