Physical literacy awareness at St. Anne Catholic School

Local students and their families are invited to learn about fun and interesting ways to stay active. St. Anne Catholic School is hosting a physical literacy community event late Thursday afternoon to promote a variety of local physical fitness programs. Grade 7/8 teacher Jeff Cardy said a number of businesses and organizations will be on hand to help motivate kids to make positive physical choices. "The goal of the event is just to try and get kids active and hopefully find out about some of these things the community has to offer, as far as programs and organizations to get kids out there and try something new. Parents are just welcome to come in and explore, meet some of these people face-to-face that run these events and run these organizations and hopefully get a little more information about it and entice their kids to sign up and get out there." Cardy said representatives will be able to answer questions and provide information for registration. He said every kid should be able to find something that peaks their interest. "So we have a wide range of different organizations coming in from football to tennis, we have gymnastics, dance, Valley Axe is coming in. Like I said, the goal is just to try to gets kids, and parents I guess, to see that there's a lot the Sarnia area has to offer and that it's not just your typical four main sports." Cardy said the physical health of students is becoming more and more pressing. "We're seeing definitely trends within Canada and within the province in kids' physical activity going down and then the health-related problems that go with it. Right now, the big push is obviously for mental health, and there's a big link between the physical health of the body and the mental health, so bringing it into the school day is something that we're doing a lot at St. Anne," said Cardy. "We're trying to get kids out, going for walks and going for runs and playing games and then bringing that back into the classroom with a little more positive mindset, and hopefully we'll see that impact on their mental health as well as their physical health." Cardy said local marathon runner and Team Hoyt member Wes Harding will be presenting his message, "I CAN do the impossible," in the gymnasium at 6 p.m. Thursday's event goes from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at St. Anne Catholic Elementary School at 1000 The Rapids Parkway.