Kimberly Hoyte, the Class 1 teacher at Lawrence T. Gay Primary School who conceptualised the Fun Walk/Run, stands proudly with Dashanna Vaughan and Kaden Franklyn, winners of the Infants' 200 metres race for girls and boys respectively.
The Lawrence T. Gay Primary School has embarked on a Health and Wellness Programme to help push the concept of healthy living among the student population.
Teacher Kimberly Hoyte, who conceptualised a Fun Walk/ Run for students, revealed this as she spoke to members of the press on location at the National Conservation Commission’s Botanical Gardens, Codrington, St. Michael yesterday, where the activity was held.
Noting that the school is currently celebrating its 35th anniversary, Hoyte highlighted that a number of activities have been planned to mark the special milestone. She also stressed the school’s focus on health and wellness.
“At Lawrence T. Gay, we are celebrating our 35th anniversary. We have held a number of events so far and this (Fun Run/Walk) is just a component of our celebration. It also ties in with our Health and Wellness Programme at the school,” Hoyte explained.
“There is a lot of talk about childhood obesity, so we decided to join in the fight against (that) and other non-communicable diseases, and we have made an effort to increase the students’ awareness about healthy eating practices and the importance of exercise. This Fun Run and Walk that we are having, this is a component of that, to encourage the students to be excited about moving and exercising,” she added.
Giving a few more details about the Health and Wellness Programme, the Class 1 teacher indicated that the school has invited dietitians and other health advocates to speak to the children about healthy eating practices and to give them tips about the various food groups. The students also had demonstrations to show them how to prepare healthy meals and smoothies and Hoyte noted that there were excited to take the information back home and share it with their parents and relatives.
“We also invited personal trainers to the school and they had some exercise sessions at the school. So we are trying to curb (unhealthy lifestyle practices) from now, because the children today, they are the future of tomorrow and we don’t want that when they get older, they have to tackle all of these different issues that would affect the level of productivity that we have,” Hoyte maintained. (RSM)