BUFFALO, NY – Undergraduate and graduate students in the Physical Education Department at Canisius University are teaming up with Public School #17 to teach elementary children, in grades pre-k through four, how to incorporate more physical activity into their school day.
On April 16, from 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. approximately 200 pre-k – first grade students from Public School #17 will converge in the Koessler Athletic Center on Main Street to participate in jump rope, parachute, hula hoop, ball and beanbag activities, under the instruction of Canisius physical education students.
Approximately 200 second- fourth graders will join Canisius physical education students on April 30, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. on Demske Field, behind the Koessler Athletic Center, to participate in softball, soccer, and track and field activities.
“In addition to improving children’s physical fitness levels and lowering their risk of obesity, research suggests that physical activity may reduce discipline referrals and increase standardized test scores,” says Jeffrey R. Lindauer, PhD, chair of the Canisius University Kinesiology Department, who cites a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
As part of the partnership with Public School #17, Canisius physical education students also produced an exercise video that teachers can have students do in class without equipment. The 15-minute exercise video incorporates a variety of upper body and lower body exercises designed to enhance children’s aerobic endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. The video is being piloted at Public School #17 this spring and will be fully implemented at the school in fall 2013, as a way to increase children’s activity time in addition to their regular physical education classes.
For more information about Canisius’ physical fitness partnership with Public School #17, contact the Office of Public Relations at 716-888-2790.
Public School #17 is an early childhood center within the Buffalo Public School District. Its mission is to provide a nurturing and challenging environment in which students can maximize their potential through character development and academic achievement.
One of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation, Canisius is the premier private university in Western New York.
