Memorial Middle School Students Dance Their Way to Physical Fitness

Statistics show that obesity is on the rise among children and adolescents.  Childhood obesity is diagnosed when a child's weight exceeds 10 percent of what is recommended for their height and body type. 

Adolescence, a time when physical activity tends to decline, has the highest incidence of obesity with more than 17 percent of children between the ages of 12 and 19 ranking in the 95th percentile or higher for their height and weight.

The Point Pleasant Borough School District recognizes that physical inactivity and poor diet contribute to obesity and has launched a district-wide commitment to promoting nutrition education and increased physical activity wherever possible. An example of this initiative is the addition of an active video gaming component to Memorial Middle School’s Physical Education Curriculum.

“The active video gaming concept was introduced to Memorial Middle School by Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Rutgers Nursing Practice Doctoral Candidate Margaret Quinn,” said school principal Gary Floyd.

Mr. Floyd said that Mrs. Quinn had initially discussed the program with the school’s nurse, Deborah Ewtushek, who immediately suggested she present her idea to school administration and the Board of Education.

At June’s meeting of the Board of Education, Mrs. Quinn’s Active Video Gaming proposal was enthusiastically approved for implementation with the sixth grade class for the 2010-2011 school year.

Paid for with personal scholarship money and grants from both Walmart and Target, Mrs. Quinn purchased for the school one Nintendo Wii gaming console, six controllers, four dance pads to be used with the popular game Dance Dance Revolution as well as a collection of games.

“I selected games based on their ability to include the maximum number of participants,” said Ms. Quinn.

Ms. Quinn said the primary games the students play are “Dance Dance Revolution” and “Just Dance”, although she said the Wii Sports suite has been used successfully in the adaptive physical education classes for students with disabilities.

Dance Dance Revolution employs the use of specialized mats that challenge the children to dance in patterns depicted on the screen while “Just Dance” requires that the students follow on-screen choreographed moves using information from the remote to indicate which student mimics the moves most closely.  The Wii Sports suite consists of a variety of minigames including bowling, tennis, golf and baseball.

“My studies have shown that when compared with traditional physical education activities like track and basketball that the amount of time the students spend engaged in moderate activity is significantly increased with the Wii system,” said Ms. Quinn.

From Physical Education Teacher Ms. Phyllis Kirinovic’s perspective, though, one of the greatest benefits has been witnessing the students engaged and excited about physical activity.

“The Wii has really invigorated gym class,” said Ms. Kirinovic. “After 25 years of teaching Physical Education, it has been a rewarding experience to see how enthusiastically the students have embraced this new and innovative program,” she continued noting that the only problem with the program is the jealously it has elicited among the other grades in the school.

“The seventh and eighth grade classes have repeatedly asked to use the Wii and [my fellow gym teacher and I] have incorporated it into their classes on days with inclement weather when the students are prevented from going outside," Ms. Kirinovic continued. "I love that all students are motivated to participate and that the games are collaborative rather than competitive.”

According to Ms. Kirinovic, the shift from skill-driven sports to non-competitive activities helps to ensure maximum participation and promotes physical activity among students that may not possess the athletic proclivities of their peers.

And the students seem to enjoy it as well.

“I can’t wait to get to gym and play the Wii,” twelve-year-old Kyle Wasik said. “I was so surprised to come to middle school and find out that we would be playing Wii in gym, it’s very different from elementary school.”

“I like that Mrs. Kirinovic dances along with us,” added eleven-year-old Taylor Moslowitz.

According to Ms. Quinn, the students will continue to reap the benefits of the new active video gaming initiative with its addition to the school’s physical education curriculum.

“Core Curriculum Content Standards are in the process of being rewritten to incorporate technology into every content area,” said Ms. Quinn. “This project’s objective is to have an overall increase in student participation in physical education class while incorporating technology into a curriculum that has historically been devoid of technological interventions,” she said. “Currently ten states have included active video gaming as a formal part of their physical education curriculum. It has been proven effective and it is my personal goal to see New Jersey added to that list.”

Memorial Middle School’s staff couldn’t agree more.

“In the past ten years I have witnessed a marked increase in office visits related to nutritional deficiencies and obesity,” said school nurse Deborah Ewtushek who estimates that approximately one quarter of visits to her office are due to issues directly associated with these conditions.
Ms. Ewtushek explained that school based interventions are necessary to help stem the spread of obesity-related illnesse which can include, increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, breathing problems and trouble sleeping.

"It is a fact that active video games increase energy expenditure," Ms. Ewtushek said. "By implementing the active video gaming component in the sixth grade physical education classes, Memorial Middle School is proactively educating students about how to boost physical activity in a dynamic and exciting manner.”

Ms. Ewtushek said the active video gaming program was demonstrated for the staff at a recent faculty meeting.  “The teachers support will help to further promote the importance of increased physical activity.”

“Poor diet coupled with a lack of physical activity impacts a student's ability to learn effectively,” said Superintendent of Schools Vincent S. Smith.  “This project contributes to our students physical well-being and ultimately their academic performance," Mr. Smith continued. "I am very grateful to Margaret Quinn for selecting Memorial Middle School to participate in this exciting pilot program. Although Ms. Quinn will complete her research later this year, thanks to her generous donation of the gaming equipment, the school will continue to use the active video gaming in physical education thus becoming a model for other schools looking to implement similar programs.”