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12TuesdaySeptember242013LiteracyWeekEducationHittingthegymhittingthebooksFortSmithhighschoolopenstnessroomforstudentsByMARIACHURCHPaulWilliamKaeserHighSchoolinFortSmithistryingsomethingnewthisyeartobooststudentslearningcapacitysweating.Treadmillsstairclimb-ersbikesandrowingma-chinesallpartofabrandnewtnessroomhavere-placedtheschoolsformerlibrarywhichhasbeenrelocatedtoaspareroomdownstairs.Alltheresearchsaysifyougetthatworkoutyourabilitytoconcentrategoesupyourabilitytohan-dlecomplextasksgoupyourbehaviouralissuesgodownsaidAlKarasiukprincipalatPWK.Withthetnessroomnowopenfortheschoolyearaone-hour-a-daymorningt-nessprogramhasbeenin-troducedforjuniorhighstu-dentsinGrades78and9.Forhighschoolstudentsthefitnessroomwillbeavailableonadrop-inbasisduringfreeperiodsorafterschoolstudyhours.Wegurestarttheregetthehappyhealthyhab-itsbuiltinandifyougetthreeyearsofdailytnessGoodhealthequalsgoodeducation.Weveseenitinbothhealthandeducationnewshowitsincreasedstudentsmarksaswellashealth.Ithinkthereisenoughevidenceouttheretoknowitstherightthingtodo.JulieLysFortSmithDistrictofEducationAuthoritywearehopingthatthatwillcarryonoutofhabitandasapartoflifeKarasiuksaid.AswithmostschoolsacrosstheNWTgymclassforjuniorhighstudentswasformerlymandatoryatPWK.Nowstudentshavetheoptionoftakingteamsportsasaclassinthegymnasiuminadditiontotheironehouroftnesseachmorning.Moreandmorestudentsarenotteamsportorientated.Theyrenotintothecompe-tition.ItsjustmorehealthylifestyleKarasiuksaid.Itdoesntmatterwhatt-nesslevelyoureatbecauseyoucanstartslow.Youcanwalkyoucanpeddleslowandyoucansetyourselfgoalsandprogresstoit.EyzaahArnasonaGrade7studentatPWKhasbeenusingthetnessroomwithhisclassforthepasttwoweeksnow.Itslotsoffun.Ingymclassallyoudoisrunaround.HereyouactuallyworkondifferentmusclesArnasonsharedafterputtingdowna12.5-pounddumbbellheandhisclassmateJomeiNewkirkhadbeenusingduringtheirtnesshourlastweek.GladysRehmwhosegrand-daughterPyperisastudentatPWKwasoneofmanypresentattheribboncuttingceremonyheldlastThursdayeveningtogivethecommu-nityalookatthenewtnessroomstudentshavebeenrav-ingabout.healthandeducationnewshowitsincreasedstudentsmarksaswellashealth.Ithinkthereisenoughevi-denceouttheretoknowitstherightthingtodoshesaid.Inordertomonitorthestu-dentsinthepilotyearofthetnessroomthehighschoolplanstoworkwiththeFortSmithhealthcentretocol-lectdataandtrackprogress.Thatdatawillbeusedinacondentialhealthreportcardsentouttoparents.Fundingforthefitnessroomisstillshortofmeetingthefull210-220000budgetbutKarasiuksaidcontribu-tionshavebeencominginandclosingthegap.Currentlyaround80percentoftheroomiscompletewithadditionspendingsuchasone-waymirroredwin-dowsascreentoshowt-nessvideosandamirroredwallfortheopenclassarea.TheroomalsofeaturesarotatingrockclimbingwalldonatedtotheschoolbytheFortSmithLegion.Karasiuksaidhehopestohaveacompletedtnessfacilitysecondtononebytheendofthemonth.CreeWanderingspiritusesastaiGrade7studentsatPWKtossaroWOULDLIKETOREMINDPARENTSOFTHEIMPORTANCEOFLITERACY.READINGWITHYOURCHILDFOR15MINUTESADAYCANDRASTICALLYIMPROVELITERACY922MacKenzieHwyHayRiverNTX0E0R8867874-7700TollFree1-800-661-0716NWTCreeLanguageProgramCelebratingNWTLiteracyWeekNWTCreeLanguageProgramFortSmithNTBox720X0E0P0206McDougalRd.PhFax86787227702772Emailcree.nwtmnnorthwestel.netIthinkitsawesome.ItcreatesreallygoodhabitsRehmsaid.IdontthinkitsaforcedthingIthinktheyaregoingtoseeitasanopportunity-anopportunityotherkidsmightnothave.GoodhealthequalsgoodeducationJulieLyschairoftheFortSmithDistrictofEducationAuthoritytoldTheJournalattheceremony.Weveseenitinboth