Learwood students win big

Students at Learwood Middle School in Avon Lake recently participated in a challenge to increase their daily movement/steps and it really paid off, according to a news release.

The school won first place in the 2018 Youth MOVement Contest sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic Regional Health System and the Community West Foundation. Youth MOVement is a fun, motivational contest to help combat youth obesity by encouraging Northeast Ohio school-age children to be more active, the release said.

According to Cleveland Clinic representatives, Learwood had more steps/moves than any other middle school/intermediate school in Northeast Ohio. During the month of February, 30 students and staff members at Learwood were given Movbands and tracked their movement-all day, every day. They competed against other middle/intermediate schools throughout the Cleveland area. The Learwood group averaged 18,000 moves a day or 9.2 average daily miles per person.

Representatives from the Cleveland Clinic presented a $5,000 check to the students/staff. The prize money will be used toward Learwood’s Physical Education Department to purchase new equipment for classes, according to the release. Learwood Middle School Physical Education teachers are Tyler Burke and Sarah Fleming.

To participate in the contest, Learwood students/ staff submitted a one-minute video promoting the school and outlining why the Straight from the Heart committee should select their school to participate in the competition. There are three divisions in the contest: Elementary, intermediate and high school.

PHOTO COURTESY OF AVON LAKE CITY SCHOOLS Students and staff at Learwood Middle School were recently presented with a $5,000 check from the Cleveland Clinic Regional Health System for winning first place in the 2018 Youth MOVement Contest.