First Gause Family Fitness Night a hit with attendees

Gause Elementary School and the Gause Parent Boosters hosted its first Family Fitness Night recently.

More than 300 attendees, which included students, parents and staff, came together to learn the importance of fitness and nutrition. There were five exercise stations that focused on cardio respiratory endurance, upper body strength, abdominal strength, flexibility and agility.

Families spent 10 minutes at each station.

Brooke Churchman, the school nurse, hosted a nutrition station in the cafeteria that focused on the food pyramid and making healthy meal choices.

“The goal of Family Fitness Night was to get families moving, and to do it in a fun way, with many of the exercises that could be easily replicated at home,” said Mark Bauer, Gause Elementary School physical education specialist and event host.

“With childhood obesity rising, I also wanted to show what our physical education program is doing to help combat this growing epidemic,” he said.

In addition, the Washington State Health Care Authority hosted a booth where they passed out information regarding changes in state-sponsored health care.

The evening concluded with a parents versus students game of “Ultimate Energy Ball,” which is similar to dodge ball, but students learn about energy sources, including carbohydrates, protein and fat.

The concept for the event came from the Box Tops for Education program, which provided sports balls and other fitness equipment to be given away as prizes.