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Zone 17
No. 13 Vol. 6
March 28, 2017
Lazar Middle School Students Raise Heart Rate And $1,400 For AHA
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By Jason Cohen eart disease is the number one killer of men and women. Recently, in an effort to save lives, students in Montville raised $1,400 for the American Heart Association (AHA). This school year marked a decade of Robert R. Lazar Middle School participating with the AHA and its largest contribution to the organization. In recognition of February as Heart Healthy Month, school nurse Dorian Vicente and physical education teacher Brianne Tesseyman spearheaded the efforts to educate the faculty and children about heart disease. “We really just wanted the kids to be aware of how important it is that heart disease can be a silent killer,” Tesseyman said. “They all worked hard to donate the money. I just feel the students wanted to make a difference.” According to the U.S.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 610,000 people die of heart disease every year and coronary heart disease is the most common type of heart disease, killing more than 370,000 annually. In February, the school held several events for heart disease awareness, including the fifth annual “Jump Rope for Heart” fundraiser and wear red day held on Feb 10. “I was really surprised this year about the amount that came in, mostly on the student side,” Vicente remarked. The largest donation was $115 from eighth grader Juliana Racioppi. Her great grandfather had heart disease, so the cause hit home. Both teachers were impressed that she raised the money in less than 24 hours. Vicente, who became a certified CPR instructor for the AHA 11 years ago, helped implement wear red
day. Staff members don red apparel and donate $5 to the AHA. Additionally, the school started a Wellness Wednesdays committee this year, where students are taught numerous things about health, including hands only CPR. Tesseyman told the Hometown News that eighth graders take a fitness for life class, which many think is about sports, but actually deals with heart disease, how to stay active, nutrition and much more. “Simply being out of shape has a lot of them worried,” Tesseyman said. “There are misconceptions even in adults.” She noted how most of the kids have taken the course seriously. In fact, some parents have even contacted her saying how the class has changed their kids’ diets. “That’s good; a start, that the fuel they put in their body, they now want it
to be the best and healthy,” Tesseyman commented. However, she noted, unfortunately in this technologically driven age, some
students’ only physical activity is in gym class. She hopes the continued education about heart disease will affect the kids.
“Every young teen thinks they’re fine and doesn’t have to worry down their road,” she said.
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