The Sunset Elementary & Northridge Elementary Physical Education Department has received a $2300.00 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation-Newton Fund, funded through the Central Kansas Community Foundation. The funds will be used for individual heart rate monitors for students to use in physical education.
The PE department had previously hosted two events and received grants to assist in their efforts to raise the funds needed to purchase the monitors. With the $7242.85 raised, roughly 250 students will benefit from the use of the heart rate monitors each year, while learning the importance of maintaining a health active lifestyle.
The heart rate monitor is a web based tracking and measurement system that uses a heart rate monitor that students will wear during PE class to help them better understand their own health. The student’s daily effort will be recorded, stored over time, and used to analyze the effectiveness of the activities. The data can also be delivered to both teacher and student as soon as class ends. The software provided will allow the teacher to track and correlate physical activity to academic performance and classroom behavior, develop student portfolios from K-12, document Fitnessgram results and attendance, and email daily heart rate activity directly to students and parent’s smart phones. With the purchase of the heart rate monitors, the district will own twenty-eight individual wrist heart rate monitors, a charging station, a classroom reader (transfer data device), and a three-year software license.
Jen Vogts, a committee member of the Central Kansas Community Foundation said it best. “We are excited to see your vision become a reality to incorporate heart rate monitors and the tracking software in PE classes!” This is truly a vision that our schools and community have rallied together to make this a reality for our students. With countless hours of planning, reaching out to the community, and writing on the part of PE staff, district students will now have to opportunity to start monitoring their heart rate throughout each physical education class.
Newton Schools PE Teacher, Mario Nava receives a check from Angie Tatro with the Central Kansas Community Foundation that will be used to purchase heart rate monitors for PE students in the district.
