Lehighton students turn focus on heart health

Elementary students in Lehighton Area School District are turning their focus this week to heart health and a healthy lifestyle.

Students in grades K-5 are participating in the Kids Heart Challenge, an event formerly known as Jump Rope For Heart, during health and physical education classes Monday through Thursday.

“We’re not just doing the jump rope anymore,” Lehighton physical education teacher Joseph Ellis said. “We’re now doing plyometric, calisthenic and isometric exercises. We can be more diverse with it. They are also getting a lot of spirituality out of the week. Be good to people and good things will happen to you. If everyone does something good every day, it would be a different world, a better world.”

As part of the Kids Heart Challenge, students raise money for the American Heart Association. Ellis said the students had raised almost $10,000 to date. As of Wednesday, 19 students raised over $100 each.

Each year, about 800,000 people die from heart-related conditions in the United States. From 2011 to 2012, this cost the United States about $316.6 billion in health care dollars, according to the American Heart Association.

Also, according to the AHA, a recent survey reported that more than 40% of high-school-age students play video or computer games for three or more hours daily, and more than 30% of them watch television for more than three hours on the average school day.

“We want the students to realize the importance of exercising every day,” Ellis said. “It doesn’t have to be extreme fitness. It can be helping your mom rake the leaves or shovel the snow. Take the dog for a walk. Anything like that. Just get out and get moving.”

Lehighton set up eight cardiovascular stations where students will participate during physical education class. Stations include activities focusing on upper body strength, core strength, lower body strength and footwork drills.

Throughout the week, he and the staff are also stressing making good decisions, especially when it comes to smoking.

“Don’t even think about it,” Ellis said. “That’s what we’re telling them. Vaping is the new thing and apparently it’s going to be way worse. Kids are going to start getting that peer pressure and need to know the importance of saying no. I really think they’re listening to us.”

The elementary level, he said, is the most critical time to get that through to students.

“They’re young and they look up to us,” Ellis said. “High school kids are past that barrier. They’ve already had to deal with the peer pressure. These kids are more impressionable. I always try to practice what I preach as a physical education teacher. I think they see that and buy into it.”