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Students start day in a healthy way

The third graders at Vallecitos School in Rainbow take physical education seriously by including health and fitness in their daily schedule. Every morning, since the school year began, the students “commit to be fit” by starting their day with running exercises on the school’s track (weather permitting). Teacher Wayne Tortorella, who has spearheaded the program for 10 years now, borrowed the “Commit to Be Fit” slogan from a poster. “I use the slogan to give the kids a focus on why they are training,” he said.

Tortorella said the program centers on walking and running for aerobic exercise. Over the years that he has used the program, he has simplified it into three steps to make the workouts more intensive. “The fitness level has become better because of the intensity,” he said, adding “Overall though, teaching the kids to set goals is what the program emphasizes.”

There are three parts to each workout. First the children warm up by jogging one or two laps around the track followed by short drills (fanny kickers, skipping and sprints). The second part involves running with intensity; the class is divided into three groups which take turns running half lap races four to five times before ending with a warm down jog once or twice around the track.

“I am trying to expose the children to a fitness approach that they can apply in other areas of their lives,” Tortorella said. “I modify and individualize workouts based on ability,” he added. Tortorella himself has played many sports in his lifetime. He said, “One of the highlights of my coaching career was assisting the late Marty Hauck of Fallbrook High during cross country and track seasons. He taught me a lot that I use with my young athletes today.”

His students’ parents often help with the workouts. On May 3, Mike Darnley, a father and school board member, took the students to the starting line of the half lap races at the far end of the track. He gave the slower children a head start on the faster ones while their teacher encouraged them from the finish line.

Of the “Commit to be Fit” program, Darnley said, “I think it is really beneficial for the kids; I’ve seen great progress.” While many of them were crying and cramping in the beginning, they now run their fastest without a problem. In his view, “the exercise helps the kids settle down and concentrate .

Most of the kids enjoy running now. Brisa Rivera said, “I felt tired the first day and my spine used to hurt. Now I feel great.” Her classmate Mikey Campos said, “I like running because it is an exercise.” He added that he runs [the workouts] a lot easier now.

Tatum Johnson said, “I like running because it’s fun. The workout gets harder; sometimes it’s easier, [so now] it’s easier to run.”

Vallecitos’ principal/superintendent David Jones runs with the students from time to time to “make it fun” for them. He said, “It is a great way to show them that it is important to be physically fit in their life.”

Since many schools do not have physical education programs for their students, Tortorella’s daily program is unusual. From Jones’ point of view, “It’s wonderful when teachers take that initiative to put a structured physical education plan in place for their students; having a quality plan in place is incredibly important.”

Of the students he said that taking care of their bodies has a positive impact on their thinking as having more fit bodies helps improve their ability to concentrate which in turn improves their academic performance.

According to Tortorella, who has been teaching at Vallecitos for all 26 years of his career, his students have “helped spread overall fitness awareness throughout the school by challenging students from the other grades (fourth through eighth).” His fastest runners have outrun some of the older students in one mile races.

Besides being more physically fit, Tortorella said his students are also calmer in the classroom. In summing up his motivation for “Commit to be Fit,” he said, “I think this program helps the students perform much better all around. First and foremost, they learn what self-esteem is. It is always earned and they have come to realize that!”

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