Superintendent John Lavoie
57 River Rd, Andover,
MA 01810
For Immediate Release
Friday, Dec. 21, 2018
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
GLTS Partners with Greater Lawrence Family Health Center for Reggies on the Move Program
LAWRENCE — GLTS students are embracing health and fitness through the school’s Reggies on the Move program.
Facilitated by staff from the school-based Greater Lawrence Family Health Center and GLTS staff, the after school club works by getting participants moving while connecting with their bodies.
“What’s great about Reggies on the Move is that students and their friends can come and hang out with each other while engaging in healthy activities,” said GLFHC nurse practitioner Lisa Howe. “We often see kids branching out and making friends they wouldn’t have otherwise, which is so great.”
The program is designed after former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign, which works to set children up with healthy futures. GLTS and GLFHC first launched its program in 2009, focusing on offering a space for students not involved in traditional sports to come after school and engage in healthy activities.
Reggies on the Move is set up to run in conjunction with regularly scheduled sports programs, so three sessions are offered throughout the year. Participants meet after school on Tuesday through Thursday from 2:30-5:30 p.m. and complete activities that incorporate nutrition, wellness and exercise.
Now in its winter session, Reggies on the Move starts with students setting a goal they hope to reach by the end of the term. The program is capped at 30 students each session and is regularly at capacity.
Junior Jacob McConniel, of Lawrence, has been involved in the club since he was a freshman, and has served the last two years as a leader of Reggies on the Move. In this position, he assists volunteers and GLTS with facilitating activities and leading students while outside on the trails.
“If you want to set any type of health or wellness goal in your life and work to achieve it, Reggies on the Move is a great place to do it,” McConniel said. “It’s like a family here — we all get along and there’s no judgment.”
Students begin each meeting with a healthy snack and then proceed with a warm up walk outside on the trail in the woods adjacent to the school or around the building — with participants aiming to increase the distance they complete each time — that is followed by a presentation on nutrition and wellness.
From 4:15-5 p.m., members then head to the wellness and/or weight room to participate in group activities. The evening ends with a 25-minute stretch and cool down activity before students catch the 5:30 p.m. after school bus.
The program is run by GLTS faculty Treacy Shields, Kerri Domahowski and paraprofessional Kathy Mulry along with GLFHC nurse practitioners Howe and Elane Lee, social worker Jessie Gadd, medical assistant Leticia Batista and nutritionist Kathie Stanton.
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