Meadowridge School’s Alumni Newsletter
the
talon
issue 6
june 2005 Celebrating 19 years of quality education for children.
Meadowridge Gets Fit for Life
I
magine an entire P.E. class of Meadowridge students working out in a state-of-theart fitness centre on campus. Imagine students rotating through a circuit of exercises safely improving their strength and conditioning. Imagine students using chest and shoulder presses, leg machines, rowing machines, spinning bikes, and dumbbells in an athletic atmosphere that supports self-growth and builds the confidence and fitness levels of students. One no longer needs to imagine these possibilities, as they are now a reality for Meadowridge students. Meadowridge opened its new fitness centre on Tuesday, March 29 - the first day of class after Spring Break - with a special assembly. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the new facility that features a line of Cybex strength equipment, Concept Two rowing machines, spinning bikes, and two racks of dumbbells. In total, there are 16 stations arranged in a circuit-training format to provide students from Grades 8-12 with a total body workout. In addition to the strength and cardio equipment, the fitness centre has a powerful 28,000 BTU air conditioning unit and an assortment of supplementary equipment including ladders, plyometric boxes, core strength balls, and neoprene dumbbells. A striking five-foot square mural of the sports gryphon completes the room and makes an indelible impression on all who enter. The fitness centre is the product of much thoughtful planning, research, and careful implementation over the past year. In the spring of 2004, I submitted a detailed proposal to Administration for a proposed fitness centre. The need for a fitness centre arose for two main reasons: (1) the need to improve the basic physical fitness of Meadowridge students, which has many beneficial spin-offs for both students’ health and academics; and (2) the loss of gym time throughout the school year due to special events. A study on the loss of instructional time showed that the gym was out of bounds to P.E. classes between 30-35 instructional days a year, which presented a major obstacle to providing a quality P.E. program. The new fitness centre will become a staple of the P.E. program from Grades 8-12. Contrary to popular misconception, students as young as 12-13 years of age can safely use weights in training given age appropriate limits on the amount of weight they can push and the number of sets they can complete. There is overwhelming research that supports the health benefits to be gained by students from appropriate, safely conducted weight-
training programs. To augment the use of the facility, Rosalin Hanna from West Coast Kinesiology was contracted to write a progressive, age-appropriate fitness program for the Secondary students based around our new facility. Secondary staff are also currently undergoing professional development in fitness knowledge and weight training to ensure supervision of students is of the highest quality. Finally, a number of training resources have been purchased to support the teaching and learning of the students in our new fitness centre. As Director of Athletics I would like to acknowledge the staff members who assisted me with the implementation of the fitness centre –Julie Bournival, Jim Davies, Jada MacGregor, Christine Bickle, Don Hincks, Stephen Olah, Tamara Warner, Tricia Grzybowski, and Brent Barkhouse. Their willingness to meet after school on their own time and contribute expertise and insight was greatly appreciated. I would like to thank our Headmaster, Hugh Burke, whose support was critical, and Rhys Clarke, who voluntarily agreed to move the drama program and DFT classes to the stage for the remainder of this year so that the fitness centre could become a reality now. I would also like to thank the Gala committee and all the parents who attended the Gala. Approximately 80% of the funding for the fitness centre came from monies raised at the Gala. Finally, I would like to thank the Kempe family whose $2,500 donation to athletics has also been used for this project. The fitness centre is concrete evidence that the money parents give to the school goes directly into facilities and resources that benefit their children. It has been gratifying to see the fitness centre come to fruition. Thank you. Gordon MacIntyre, Director of Athletics
Bound for Baja
W
ow, what an amazing experience! Mexico was by far the best ‘educational’ fieldtrip I have ever experienced. We had a huge, 90 foot, ship appropriately named ‘La Fiesta’ and an awesome crew. Every day we relaxed in the hot Mexican sun as we carried out different adventures. Each day consisted of traveling to a different beautiful beach. We’d then take the pangas (small boats) to the beaches were we would explore the vast cactus forests, went beach combing, sun tanned, snorkeled or playing frisbee with a cap. Upon returning from the beaches, we would be blessed with an amazing lunch prepared by the fabulous cooks on board the ship. After lunch, the students could tan on the top deck of the ship, sleep in the hammocks, play cards (primarily Kent) or, most importantly, do homework...not. See related story on page page 5.
La Fiesta estuve una fiesta muy fantastica!