any of the following circumstances:

                 day.

           (3) The items sold during a school sponsored pupil activity after the end of the school day.

                  sweetener.

                  flavored, with a sugar content of not more than four (4) grams per ounce.

                  have no added sweetener.

                  been deep fried, and legumes.

                  occurring and added sugars) per ounce and reduced fat or low fat cheese packaged for individual sale.

                  based on manufacturers' nutritional data or nutrient facts labels:

                  including, added sugar, but does not include, the naturally occurring sugar or sugars that are contained within milk or fruit

                  juice.

                  rings, nachos, French fries, donuts, cookies, pastries, cinnamon rolls, and candy.

Why Have Americans Become More Obese?

FoodReview: Weighing In on Obesity, Vol. 25, No. 3

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Physical Education

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Click this link below to connect to the AAHPERD web page.

http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=position-papers.html

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Physical Education Survey

We would like to identify strategies and characteristics of quality physical education teachers. Our goal is to cultivate these qualities within our teacher preparation candidates. We believe that students preparing to be physical educators should be prepared the best they can with the most appropriate techniques and strategies. Thus, we would like to hear from you, experts in the trenches.

Please take 2 minutes to complete the survey identifying characteristics of quality physical education teachers. Information from our findings will be used to facilitate our teacher preparation program.

Click on the following link to complete the survey:
https://webmail.ppsd.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://uwrf.edu/forms/hhp-professionals/

Thanks for your assistance!

Dean Culpepper, Ph.D. and Sue Tarr, Ph.D.
University of Wisconsin, River Falls

Dean Culpepper, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Health and Human Performance
University of Wisconsin-River Falls
715.425.3931
www.uwrf.edu/hhp

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Fitness can be a stretch

As schools look to offer more literacy and math courses in hopes of boosting test scores, physical education becomes less of a priority.

BY JENNIFER D. JORDAN
Journal Staff Writer

From banning soda machines to offering healthier lunches, Rhode Island schools have increased efforts to fight childhood obesity. In a state where at least one child in five is overweight or obese, that is critical.

But as schools start to open this week, it is clear that Rhode Island lags in an equally important area -- boosting students' physical activity and fitness levels.

"There's a lot more activity around nutrition than there is about physical activity, and that's a shame," said Jan Mermin, health education specialist at the state Department of Education. "You need both to fight the battle against obesity and to support school health and learning."

Surveys in the last five years have highlighted the problem: 40 percent of Rhode Island children ages 6 to 10 do not exercise and 76 percent of adolescents fail to receive sufficient moderate exercise. At the same time, a third of Rhode Island students say they watch three or more hours of television on an average school day.

"We need to change the way we think as a society, and make sure everyone is educated about the importance of being physically active," said Linda Mendonca, a school nurse at Jenks Junior High School in Pawtucket who helped to start a 30-minute before-school fitness program at Jenks. "Every baby step that we can take in the right direction is worth it."

THERE ARE barriers to change.

Expanding physical education classes to 30 to 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other national health groups, is unlikely in a state where many districts already struggle to meet a far less ambitious standard -- the state mandate of 100 minutes per week of health and physical education.

An informal survey last year of about 130 schools by the Rhode Island Healthy Schools Coalition, a group of 75 community organizations and school districts, found that many schools offer less than required. Some high schools, for example, offer gym classes for just one-quarter of the school year, then switch to health, art and music. Scheduling and financial limitations are to blame, say school officials.

"The variety out there is incredible," said Dorothy Brayley, executive director of Kids First, a nonprofit organization that promotes childhood nutrition and wellness, and one of the organizers of the survey. "There are many schools that are not compliant with the 100 minutes and even if they are, how [physical education] is being delivered is all over the place. There is no consistency."

Pressures from the federal education law No Child Left Behind, which requires yearly testing in English and math, also play a role. Today, many schools are scrambling to offer more literacy and math courses in hopes of boosting scores on the annual standardized tests, often at the cost of recess, art, music and gym.

The shift concerns health and physical-fitness teachers -- especially because studies have shown a link between physical activity and higher test scores.

"We are not included as a core academic subject in NCLB, and so more money for professional development and more time in the school day is directed to those core academic subjects," said Shawna Southern, a physical-education teacher at the Lillian Feinstein Elementary School at Sackett Street in Providence. "But we should be a core subject. The Greeks knew it thousands of years ago -- you need a sound body and a sound mind. We have to educate our children holistically, not just in math and literacy."

Teachers need more resources and training today because physical education has changed over the years, said Southern, who also serves as president of the Rhode Island Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Education.

"A gym teacher years ago might have rolled out a ball and told the kids to play, and basically just controlled a room with 70 kids in it," Southern said. "Today, a physical-education teacher has all the kids up and moving for most of the class."

Instead of playing Duck, Duck Goose, where most children sit still for the majority of the class, for example, a physical-education teacher might have kindergarteners play Stuck in the Mud, a more-vigorous game of tag.

A STATE LAW passed last year requires every school committee to have a wellness subcommittee charged with making recommendations about nutrition, health and fitness. Districts were also required to submit a wellness plan to the state education department by May 1, but only a handful have done so, said Mermin, the state's health education specialist. The department will work with districts over the coming year to ensure that wellness plans are in place, he said.

Some schools have begun to explore ways to get more students active and moving every day, including offering before- and after-school programs.

Narragansett's subcommittee, headed by Deb Ranaldi, the physical-education and health teacher at Pier Middle School, passed out brochures of the district's wellness policy at school open houses last fall. They pushed to ban soda from schools, including the high school -- a move other districts have been reluctant to make because soda machines raise money for high school groups and teams.

This year, several after-school programs will be offered at the middle school three days a week, to draw in students who may not see themselves as athletic, Ranaldi said.

In addition, Narragansett Elementary School offers a daily walking program through the local YMCA, which students must pay for, and a free dance and fitness program once a week.

Ranaldi's students attend physical-education class twice a week for 48 minutes each session throughout the year, in addition to a semester of health class.

At Jenks Junior High in Pawtucket, students can sign up for a free before-school fitness program, offered from 7 to 7:30 three mornings a week.

Last year, a grant from Kids First and support from companies such as Whole Foods, helped cover the $5,000 stipend paid to two physical-education teachers to run the program. This year, teachers are waiting to see whether toy-maker Hasbro approves a grant to finance the program, said school nurse Linda Mendonca.

About 30 students signed up for the six-week sessions held throughout the school year, Mendonca said. Guest instructors taught yoga, dance and karate. Students played basketball and scatterball. When the students went to breakfast at 7:30, a yogurt bar with granola, yogurt and fruit, was offered.

"I liked it, because I didn't have to wake up and have math first thing in the morning," said Wendy Rogers, 14, who will be a freshman at Tolman High School this fall. "I played dodgeball instead, and then I wasn't so sleepy when I got to class."

HEALTH AND FITNESS advocates acknowledge that Rhode Island schools face hurdles in offering gym classes every day to students. But in addition to extracurricular activities, schools can encourage daily physical activity in many ways, they say.

Milford, Conn., is considering launching a walk or bike to school program. Parents volunteer to accompany groups of children who live within a mile of school. Districts can also work with community organizations, such as the YMCA, to offer after-school programs for students.

Advocates also say that students of all ages would benefit from frequent stretching breaks throughout the school day.

"It only takes a couple of minutes, but it can really refocus the student and get them ready to learn," Ranaldi said. "Everyone keeps looking at the core content areas of NCLB, like reading and math, but if you really want your child to be successful, they also need to keep their mind and body stimulated."

jjordan@projo.com / (401) 277-7254