White Middle School takes fitness seriously

Students and their families exercise in the fitness room during Thurman Middle School’s family fitness and dinner night on Oct. 16.

Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008 | midnight

Family fitness and dinner night

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The principal at Thurman White Middle School has decided to take fitness seriously at her school, ensuring the students are not only exposed to sports but also a gym atmosphere, for a more realistic look at fitness after graduation.

"We're striving to educate the entire child," Principal Danielle Miller said. "They're not really allowed to go to gyms, so this helps get them get used to it."

Since it opened in February, every student is guaranteed to be in the fitness room once per week as part of P.E. class.

Miller's hope is that, by the time they turn 16 and are old enough to get a gym membership, the students know how to use the equipment correctly and are motivated to go.

At the first-ever family fitness night Oct. 16, the parents and grandparents relished the idea. The school's fully equipped fitness room, which includes cardio and strength machines, was open for families to browse and use and for much of the hour it was packed with adults and children alike.

The hourlong fitness session was held before the annual family dinner to show off the fitness room responsible for getting many of the adolescents off the couch, according to family members.

"I'm glad they offer this," Rose Fernandez, grandmother of student Jessica Favela, said. "She's much more active now, much more involved."

Fernandez said Favela, 13, was never one for physical fitness before attending White this year. Now, though, she's involved in the dance team and said she'd like to try out for volleyball.

"It's cool that they have this," Favela said.

Keith Newcomer said his daughter Tiffany Nelson, 11, used to be more interested in lying around on the couch than being active. Now, though, she's much more willing and eager to join the family for bike rides, swimming or bowling.

"I think it's really awesome. We have a lot of fun," Tiffany said, agreeing her newfound love of sports is mostly because of the fitness center.

Raising enough money for the fitness center was something the school worked at. The strength equipment had been purchased several years before but was not being used to its full potential, so only the cardio equipment had to be purchased, Miller said. School officials retrofitted a little-used classroom to provide a better atmosphere.

"It was important to us, so we prioritized it out of our budget," Miller said.

The gym is open to students during their allotted class time, but teachers and staff members are welcome to use it before and after school, Kim Jefferson, seventh grade girls P.E. teacher, said. So far, it's been getting a lot of use, she said.

Frances Vanderploeg can be reached at 990-2660 or frances.vanderploeg@hbcpub.com.