Taking steps toward fitness

Marisa O’Neil

Next year, Eastbluff Elementary School students will march on

Washington without ever leaving Newport Beach.

Children got fired up at an assembly Friday morning to tell them

about a plan to get them eating better and exercising more next year.

With the help of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and

Sports, they plan to walk 15 minutes a day, every day next year and

see how far it takes them.

“With ‘Eastbluff Walk to Washington,’ we’ll figure how far we’ve

walked,” Principal Charlene Metoyer said. “We’ll see if we can walk

to Washington, D.C.”

To get things started, Melissa Johnson, executive director for the

President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, visited the

school with some hints to stay safe and in shape. Eat right, wear

sunscreen and get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day, she

suggested.

Jumping jacks, for example, get the heart pumping. Cameron Kelly,

7, and four other students got up in front of the students and

demonstrated with Johnson.

A second group, including 8-year-old Kirby Morrow, buffed up with

some push-ups. And when Johnson cranked up some music, 7-year-old

John Wilfley started dancing with wild abandon.

“I like to dance crazy and have fun,” he explained.

Kirby’s mother, chef Jan Morrow, also gave students some tips on

healthy eating for the summer. She showed them how to make “fruit

fries” with shoestring-cut pineapple and “ketchup” from banana and

strawberries.

When the walking starts in earnest next year, students will be

able to track their progress on the President’s Challenge Web site,

which encourages all members of the family to become physically

active.

“The President’s Challenge program is for all Americans, not just

kids,” Johnson said. “It’s all grown up. These are things that kids

can do with their families.”

Students at the school already receive some physical education

instruction. Baret Yahn, 10, and Lexie Shah, 9, even do “relaxation

yoga” in class each day. But Metoyer came up with the idea for the

Walk to Washington, hoping that all students will continue the

momentum they start during their school day.

“The President recommends 60 minutes a day of exercise,” Metoyer

said. “This [15 minutes of walking] will give them a kick start.”