Beaver County schools receive Highmark grants

Sept. 03--PITTSBURGH -- Exercising in gym class used to mean calisthenics.

Otherwise, it was a time when teams were picked and the sports of the season were played.

Those days are long gone, especially in places like Blackhawk School District, where teachers are emphasizing the educational aspects of physical education, says Natalie Nicolette, a Blawkhawk teacher.

Fitness and exercise and how they relate to overall health is the emphasis now, Nicolette said. "We're looking to stay current with fitness trends."

That's why a $10,000 grant from the Pittsburgh-based Highmark Foundation is appreciated at Blackhawk, she said.

"This is a huge deal for us," she said.

Blackhawk was one of four Beaver County school districts awarded the grants. The district will use the grant for staff development and training to continue the transformation of gym class into something that truly can be called physical education, Nicolette said, adding that all of the physical education teachers in the district collaborated to apply for the grant.

The other schools in the county receiving awards were Beaver Area School District, which got $5,000 to fund a cardio-wellness program, Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Hopewell, which got $2,500 to fund a fitness program and Western Beaver School District, which was given $5,000 to fund a Wii (video game)-based program, according to Highmark.

The grants were part of $311,950 in money awarded by the foundation, which is an arm of the health care/insurance provider based in Pittsburgh.

Those eligible included public school districts, vocational, private, parochial and charter schools in the Highmark Foundation's 29-county western Pennsylvania service area.

"Since a large portion of a child's day is spent in school, the school environment is regarded as one of the most effective settings to promote health and wellness," Yvonne Cook, president of the Highmark Foundation, said in a news release. "These grants support schools who are diligently working to help children develop healthy behaviors. Through this program, we are proud to continue the foundation's commitment to the health of our children."

The Highmark Foundation's "Creating a Healthy School Environment" grant program is now in its second year, with overall grant-making for the program now totaling more than $940,000 for programs in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

___

(c)2014 the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.)

Visit the Beaver County Times (Beaver, Pa.) at www.timesonline.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services