Fitness Honors For Vernon School Nurse, Others

Skinner Road School in Vernon and Judi Manfre, the school's nurse for seven years, were honored Monday at the state Capitol for their efforts to foster physical fitness.

Others honored Monday by the Governor's Committee on Physical Fitness includes East Hartford Mayor Melody Currey, the Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce, the Colchester 57 Fest, the Elmwood Community Center in West Hartford, and the New Britain Parks and Recreation Department.

Skinner Road School has worked to encourage students to eat better, to be physically fit and to develop lifelong habits to keep them physically fit. The school has done away with cupcakes to celebrate birthdays, has a group of students who arrive at school early two days a week to exercise, begun family fun nights that incorporate exercise, conducted a bicycle rodeo and encouraged youngsters to walk to school.

Manfre has worked with colleagues at the school such as Eric Uthgennant, the physical education teacher, and Patti Buell, the school's former principal who is now director of pupil services for the school district, on the fitness efforts. One of the biggest is the annual walk-to-school day each October, which had turned into a twice-a-month program in which youngsters are dropped 0.7 miles from the school, then walk the rest of the way in.

Fitness scores, as assessed on the Connecticut Mastery Test, have improved as have scores in reading, writing and math. Buell said she believes there is a link between the wellness efforts and academic test scores.

"It gets kids excited to come to school," Buell said.

"Healthy students do, in fact, learn better," Manfre said.

Manfre said a group of kindergarten parents has begun walking their children to and from school, a development that bodes well for their children. If the children get used to walking to school young, there's a good chance it will continue.

Skinner Road is also working to develop safe routes to school to address any concerns parents might have about having their children walk to school.

Currey was honored for her efforts to obtain state grants to improve parks and recreation facilities in East Hartford. The Glastonbury Chamber of Commerce was honored for its "Living Well in Glastonbury" program that encourages chamber members to incorporate health and fitness in their lives. The Elmwood Senior Center was honored for its fitness programs for seniors. New Britain's parks and recreation department was honored for the host of programs it offers. And the Colchester 57 Fest was honored for encouraging physical activity.