Our celebratory skating party is Wednesday, May 16, 2012 from 5-8pm! All Morning Milers are welcome to come have fun! Mention the Morning Mile or wear your reward necklace for free entry. Free skates are included as well.

Poinciana Elementary Morning Milers

Click here to check out this beautiful two page feature in Conch Color magazine in the Florida Keys!

Healthy Learning Academy in Alachua County, Florida has really knocked it out of the park. It’s a charter school with a clear emphasis on  health and fitness and they’ve truly taken the Morning Mile to heart. We recently attended a wonderful Morning Mile ceremony hosted at the school’s gym which allowed parents to join in on the presentation of Morning Mile reward necklaces, certificates and other fun prizes. The kids just oozed pride. Whether they had run 5 miles or well over 100, each student was made to feel like a star for putting in some effort in the mornings, and the parents beamed because of their child’s fit accomplishments.

Another fun fact about Healthy Learning Academy? These students have decided to strive to “run across the US”. They started in Washington D.C. and have almost made it to Utah! Thanks to Principal Anni Egan and all the amazing teachers who make this program such a huge success. Check out their Google Map here and enjoy our HLA Morning Mile ceremony slideshow.

The HLA Students have run REALLY far!

Healthy Learning Academy’s Morning Mile program is sponsored by

Has anyone felt the ground vibrating each morning from 7:45 to 8:15 AM?  Don’t worry, it’s not an earthquake – its approximately 426 Poinciana Elementary School students (grades k-5) walking and running the Morning Mile.  Introduced by and sponsored to the school by the Lower Keys Medical Center,  Coach John Hughes, PE Teacher at Poinciana, loves that the Morning Mile program allows students to start each day with moderate to vigorous exercise.  He says that it “increases their fitness levels including: endurance, muscle function, cardio-respiratory capacity, and energy.  This enables the student to better focus, have better behavior, enhanced self esteem, and healthier eating habits.”

Steve Vinson, Poinciana’s Principal wasn’t sure if students and parents would be willing to come to school 45 minutes early, but Sunny Booker, Assistant Principal, said they would and it is working terrifically. With 69% of the student body walking or running 4,635 miles collectively.  The goal was to walk to Hollywood, California, which is 2,902 miles away.  They have already made it to Hollywood and are more than half way back.

The five classes that have walked the farthest:

#1 at 428 miles – Ms. Ullom’s 4th Grade Class
#2 at 303 miles – Ms. Knowles 2^th Grade Class
#3 at 271 miles – Ms. Rhodes 4^th Grade Class.
#4 at 268 miles – Ms. Hoffman’s 3^rd Grade Class
#5 at 267 miles – Ms. Jackson’s 2^nd Grade Class

Amazing job. The sponsors from Lower Keys Medical in attendance at the Morning Mile celebration were: Chief Operating Officer, Meylan Lowe-Watler, Director of PR and Marketing, Randy Detrick, and Director of Nutritional Services, Katie Wyrwicki.  Students thanked them with a great big thank you.

Meylan Lowe-Watler presented the Top 10 awards to the following students: 3^rd Grader Jada Walden 42 miles; 2^nd Grader Sean Croitoru 47 miles; 2nd Grader William Sobek 50; 4th Grader Curtis Knowles 50; 2nd Grader Dany Miranda 50; 2nd Grader Bryce Fraga 55; 3rd Grader Jason Jeudy 59; 4th Grader Rendy Mogene 61; 4th Grader Scott Jeudy 62 miles; 4^th Grade Tyler Deeley100 miles.

It was very exciting to see Tyler earn his 100 mile charm!  After fewer than 45 days (25 minutes per morning).  Conch Color salutes all the participants of  the Morning Mile fitness program and especially Lower Keys Medical Center for sponsoring such a wonderful celebratory event for the students and families who participate.  Come on Key West – join “The Morning Mile” – let’s all get healthy.

Article submitted by Sandy Higgs in regards to the Poinciana Elementary Morning Mile celebration held March 28, 2012. 

Poinciana’s Morning Mile program is sponsored by

Croton Elementary students run the Morning Mile

Check out this fabulous feature in Florida Today online on the sensational success story earned by 21 schools in Brevard County, Florida. It’s a good one! Morning Mile program encourages health, fun. The video below was also pulled from that article.

MELBOURNE— Six-year-old Cristian Tapia ran a mile Thursday morning — and then proudly held up five coffee stirrers representing the distance, one for each lap around yellow cones set up on a field at Croton Elementary School.

“It’s awesome,” the first-grader said, adding that he was looking forward to earning his first charm, given out as a reward after completing five miles.

The Morning Mile program launched this year at 21 Space Coast public schools, thanks to a $20,000 donation by Wuesthoff Health System for start-up costs, such as sound systems that blast upbeat music, coffee stirrers to count the laps and charms to be given out incrementally and after 100 miles.

“(It’s about) being healthy,” said Debbie Whitnable, a nurse manager of cardiac rehab at Wuesthoff. “If they learn at a young age, hopefully it’ll last a lifetime for them.”

Since November, when the program started, Brevard students have logged about 20,000 miles — and counting. Some schools offer the program a few days a week, while others every school day.

Kindergartener Isabelle Rootsey typically has time to log one lap before school, something she looks forward to, and frequently asks her mom, Tania Rootsey, about. Others have run up to 2 miles before class started.

Fifth-grader Anna Hinkle has earned six charms so far — representing 30 miles. Like many students, she arrives early to school anyway, and the Morning Mile gives her a chance to walk and talk with friends.

“It’s fun,” the 11-year-old said. “I like the music playing in the background.”

Teachers say they’ve seen remarkable benefits of the program: Students are more awake and ready to learn, those with hyperactivity seem to behave better in class, and about four students have lost a dramatic amount of weight, an estimated 15 to 20 percent of body fat.

“Is this lap number two? Good job!,” fifth grade teacher Catherine Murphy said to student

s as they ran or walked by. “Don’t forget to get your stick, buddy!”

As about 85 students ran and walked around the field, parent volunteer Stephanie Nadeau handed out coffee stirrers to help students keep track of the distance they’d completed. So far, about 160 or so Croton students have participated in the program, traveling more than 2,300 miles.

The Morning Mile program, developed by Fitzness International, is in 77 schools in Florida and Texas. Schools are matched with sponsors to support program costs, and volunteers and school staff administer the program.

“I can see it make a big difference,” Nadeau said. “I’ve seen a lot of kids lose weight, and they’re doing better in school.”

Written by Mackenzie Ryan.

Please participate in the Rise n Run 1 mile Fun Run or 5K fundraiser for Morning Mile. University of Florida’s graduate students in the Health Administration Student Association have decided they’d like to personally sponsor some Morning Mile programs for schools in Florida, to help get MORE KIDS MOVING in the MORNINGS. They’re hosting this run on March 31st at 8am at Westside Park in Gainesville, Florida and we’d love it if you could come out to support their efforts. The races are appropriate for the entire family and you can choose which distance you participate in. The event flyer is linked below and you can register for the event here http://www.planetreg.com/E1017818413.

Also, the local school who registers the most participants (adults count too) will win a $150 check. Please share this info with anyone and everyone you can. We’re hoping for a fabulous turn out. It’s a new event, so word of mouth is our best bet for success. Thanks so much for your support.

Event Flyer: 2_Rise_and_Run_Flier_Color_School_final_02.21.2012

Photo Credit: Agent J Loves NYC on Flickr.com

As a Psychologist, I know of the numerous positive mental health benefits that occur from physical activity. Regular exercise has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. In children physical activity increases concentration, memory, and academic performance and reduces symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD) and the need for medication for ADD/ADHD. Exercise has also been shown to improve self-esteem and body image in children. These are all issues that are critical for our children and I believe the Morning Mile would result in reduced mental health problems in our children while also improving behavior and academic functioning in the classroom.

As a parent, I planned when my children started school to start every day off with a walk to their school. I thought it would provide them with an outlet that would help them concentrate and improve their behavior in the classroom. I soon found that despite my good intentions, I often missed the opportunity to walk with my children due to the busy morning routine. I was thrilled when Morning Mile came to our school. Now we have an easily accessible fun way to exercise every morning. Morning Mile provides a fun atmosphere and reward system that makes exercise fun and my children love it. Morning mile also encourages parents to attend which provides extra time in a busy day for families to spend time together. If our society is going to be successful in combating childhood obesity and helping children learn to love movement and their bodies, changes to the environment is critical. The Morning Mile provides a supportive and fun environment in which kids and families can easily reap the many benefits of physical activity.

Jennifer M. Watson, PhD

Clinical Psychologist

Poinciana Elementary Morning Milers

Poinciana Pelicans are extremely excited about their Morning Mile program, which is sponsored by Lower Keys Medical Center. They completed 620 miles in the first five days alone, and plan to walk enough miles to get all the way to Hollywood, California. This should easily be accomplished as 387 out of 628 students or 61.6% of the student body has already participated, and student and parent participation is increasing daily.  Go Pelicans! The Poinciana Elementary Morning Mile coordinator, Sunny Booker, has received many positive emails about their Morning Mile and shared them with us. (Which we LOVE!) Before we get to those though …  P.E. teacher Mr. Hughes was so surprised at how active the students were first thing in the morning, he stated, “I would have given out straws long ago if I had known.” Priceless.

☺   My son no longer gives me a hard time waking up in the morning.

☺   Walking with my daughter is my favorite part of my day.

☺   My son is learning how to pace himself and learning the skills of a life-long runner.

☺   The kids have time to socialize while doing something good for them.  It is a win-win.

Poinciana Elementary is sponsored by:

Dillan Wernecke shows off 45 worth of mile charms.

Today my five year old son Dillan received his foot for his 45th mile ran at Morning Mile at Talbot Elementary. Running almost every morning has improved his speed and endurance and has even helped with his swimming endurance (he swims for the Gator Swim Club). Dillan loves running at morning mile with his dad, and his friends. It has helped his dad get in some much needed exercise too. — Proud Mom, Keri Wernecke

Talbot Elementary Morning Mile program is sponsored by AvMed Health Plans.