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The grant will pay for a wellness center, gym equipment, canoes, sporting goods and a few unconventional physical-education items, including the “Dance Dance Revolution” video game and equipment for geocaching, a treasure hunt game using global positioning system technology.
The sizeable award will substantially improve the fitness of the school system’s 750 students, said Jim Gostomski, a WACS assistant principal and physical education teacher who took nearly six years to develop the grant proposal.
“This is the proverbial dream grant,” he said. “We’re very fortunate to have this opportunity, and we’re going to take advantage of it.”
The money will be paid through the U.S. Department of Education’s Carol M. White Physical Education Program over three years.
The first year, WACS will use about $273,000 to build a wellness center at St. Stanislaus Middle School. The center will be stocked with weights, treadmills and stationary bikes, and the school will also buy badminton, tennis and golf equipment, among other items.
In the next two years of the program, WACS plans to buy outdoor equipment, such as canoes and kayaks, and develop training programs for teachers.
The school system’s grant proposal focused on developing lifelong fitness habits for its students.
The grant is one of the largest given to the school in Gostomski’s memory. Previous awards have been closer to $10,000, he said.
Walz said the grant is timely, because so many students battle weight and health problems.
Bernice wrote on Jun 28, 2008 10:41 AM: