Local students prepare for trip to the moon

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

How long does it take to get to the moon and back? According to the Lockhart ISD Physical Education Department (LISD/PE), it takes an entire community about 30 minutes a day, for less than six months’ time.

On Saturday, LISD/PE will publicly unveil this year’s physical education challenge, “To the Moon and Back,” during the Loc

khart Lions Liftoff Celebration at Lion Stadium. The program, according to Navarro Elementary School PE Teacher Andrea Fulton. The program is designed not only to encourage LISD students to get active, but to encourage their families and friends to do the same.

“For every 30 minutes of activity our kids do, they’re going to earn one ‘mile,’” Fulton said. “Between now and March 29, 2011, our goal is to earn 477,714 ‘miles,’ which is the distance to the moon and back.”

Miles can be earned for nearly any activity, from playing soccer to mowing the lawn. The more a student does, the more miles they earn. In addition, students will earn extra miles for every 30 minutes their parents, siblings or other family members and friends participate with them.

For instance, Fulton said, if Henry plays basketball for 30 minutes with his brother, he will earn two miles. He earns one mile of physical activity for himself, and another mile for encouraging his brother to play with him. Henry just earned two miles in 30 minutes. Additionally, miles earned will be applied to the Marathon Kids program for students participating in that activity challenge.

Each campus’s progress will be tracked monthly, and the Post-Register will keep a record of the community’s collective progress in cooperation with the project.

“Our goal, really, is to get the entire community involved in being physically active and taking part in their own, and their children’s wellness,” Fulton said. “We wanted to make it fun, and this is what we came up with.”

According to LISD Athletic Director Melinda Kirst, the district is required under Texas Education Agency rules to enact a district-wide wellness program, and the idea presented by LISD/PE was to make that program interesting, measurable and achievable.

“If we track it by ‘miles,’ we can show them a graph and say, ‘this is how far you’ve come and this is how far you have to go,’ rather than just encouraging them to be active outside of PE class at school,” Kirst said.

Students will get credit for their PE classes, Fulton said. However, the more activities they participate in, the more they earn and the healthier they will be.

The Lockhart Lion Liftoff, the first day of the initiative, is a free event that is open to everyone in the community. Lion Stadium will play host to the rally beginning at 8:30 a.m. On the schedule are “opening laps” for every elementary school and grade level, as well as a wide variety of activity and educational booths.

While the event itself is free, several of the booths will ask for tickets, which will be sold at the gate, five for $1. Additionally, the Lion Athletic Booster Club will be on hand to sell snacks and concessions. The proceeds from the booth tickets will be invested back into PE programs within the LISD.