By Emily Williams
Every time Greystone Elementary School’s physical education teachers go to the Summer Physical Education and Health Conference, they attend each of the three days of the program in the hopes of winning the equipment needed to participate in the Wee Can Fight Obesity program.
Coach Rand Payton said he put Greystone Elementary in the drawing four times before luck struck and he won.
“I’m still in shock,” Payton said. “I never win anything.”
The annual conference was held July 27-29 by the Alabama Department of Education’s Health and Physical Education Division and sponsored by the state’s Department of Health as well as the Alabama Sports Festival Foundation’s Wee Can Fight Obesity program.
The foundation supports positive lifestyle choices, and its program promotes the use of motion-based gaming consoles in physical education classes to promote physical activity as well as to pique students’ interest in movement-related activity.
Greystone Elementary hosted a Wee Can Fight Obesity presentation Sept. 18, showcasing how the program is integrated into its physical education course.
Students began with a five-minute warm-up to get their hearts racing before gathering behind a projector connected to a Nintendo Wii Console. Payton then fired up the gaming system and the students began dancing along with a character in the Just Dance 2 game.
“The kids get super excited when it’s time to dance,” said physical education coach Leta Hoit. “Before we updated the system, they were dancing to ‘80s music. Now we have some more current music to choose from. Their favorite right now is probably ‘What Does the Fox Say?’”
The students follow the movement of a virtual dancer while the coach holds the console controller and dances along with them.
“The students love to move and they love to dance,” Hoit said. “There are a few that are going to be shy in everything we do, but this is just another way to show them that it’s OK to be silly.”
The set of equipment that Greystone won includes the gaming console, Wii Fit U software, an HD projector, a sound bar, batteries and a rolling cart to haul the lot.
“Mrs. Hoit and I have been so excited about integrating the Wii into our physical education program,” Payton said. “This gives us the opportunity to provide new activities throughout the school year.”
The coaches said the school’s curriculum will remain intact, but the Wii and the Wee Can Fight Obesity Program will enhance the students’ experience.
