Sweeney Students and Staff are "Climbing Towards Fitness"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In the Fall of 2008, W.B. Sweeney School and the Town of Windham was informed by their insurance company that the 22 year old wooden playground for the lower grades would no longer be insured due to a number of safety concerns. The immediate result of this decision is that the playground structure is adorned with yellow caution tape and cannot be used by the students. This has left the students at this Kindergarten through Fourth Grade school with limited options at recess time.
Beyond merely be frustrating for students and staff, lack of recess facilities can be quite damaging to the children. A 2007 study entitled “Recess Rules” by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a foundation specializing in American health and healthcare, stated that
Studies, however, show that play is essential to the physical, emotional and social development of every child.It is also the single most effective strategy for increasing physical activity among children. Providing opportunities for safe and healthy play should be an important part of any strategy for preventing violence, creating an environment for academic achievement, promoting emotional well-being and improving children’s health. (SOURCE: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/sports4kidsrecessreport.pdf)
Furthermore, “Recess Rules” found that minority and low-income students are most at risk of losing out on recess time and its valuable benefits. The students of Windham and Sweeney School represent both of these groups in large numbers.
In reaction to the loss of the playground, a committee of staff members and parents formed Project FIT to raise funds and plan for a replacement playground. The name for this project was formed creating an acronym for Fun, Imagination and Teamwork – traits all members of the Sweeney community help to instill in Sweeney’s students. Co-chairs for this committee are Sweeney Physical Education teacher Kim Switchenko and Town of Windham Recreation Director and Sweeney Parent Tara Risley.
Using a portion of money raised by Eastern Connecticut State University’s Education Club’s “Walk for Education” as seed money, parents and staff have been running concession stands at youth basketball games, planning for a 20/20 raffle and brainstorming other fundraising possibilities. The Town of Windham’s Recreation Department has expressed their support for the fitness of the town’s students by pledging the proceeds for this year’s Easter Road Race on April 4th.
Project FIT’s ultimate goal is to raise $40,000, but hopes to raise $10,000 by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year to begin installation of replacement sections of the playground. The committee is looking to the community for donations, fundraising ideas, and corporate fund matching. For more information, please call Kim Switchenko at (860) 465-2420.
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