The following is from the Columbia High School HSA:
Students at Columbia High School have quite literally stepped up the pace recently.
More than 40 students participated in CHS’s first ever Step Challenge, with those achieving the most steps earning gift cards and cash prizes in a contest sponsored by the CHS Athletic Department and the Home and School Association.
The three grand-prize winners, combined, clocked a total of 784,756 steps over the two-week period, each averaging between 15,000 and 21,000 steps a day. In addition, the other participants averaged between 10,000 and 15,000 steps a day.
The program was the brainchild of CHS HSA program coordinator Marilyn Wright and was embraced by Judy Lo Bianco, supervisor of health, physical education and nursing services for the school district, and by Principal Elizabeth Aaron, both of whom started counting their own steps as well.
“The buzz around this has been like nothing I’ve ever seen,” said Lo Bianco. “Lots of kids with devices. This has been one of the most successful physical activity initiatives I’ve seen in my 23 years at CHS.”
Additionally, Wright said, cool graphic art touting the event and posted in the hallways and online – created by parent volunteer Lori Thorn — helped create the buzz among the students.
According to Wright, the HSA wanted to do some programming around fitness and the Step Challenge seemed like a great way to create a friendly competition.
“I wanted something that almost anyone could do,” Wright said, adding that the PE and health teachers strongly supported the event. “We would not have been able to do anything without the support of the teachers. They have direct access to the students and we needed their help to make it a success.”
The program was so successful that even Principal Aaron and Social Studies teacher JD Robinson got into the act, taking to Twitter to challenge each other and post pictures of their daily step counts – hoping to outdo one another.
“In fact, one afternoon during lunch, we passed each other doing a walking lap around the building,” Mrs. Aaron said.
Wright said plans are underway to start another step challenge in the fall and to involve more students and officially include faculty and staff in the competition.
The overall winners of this year’s challenge received cash prizes ranging from $75 to $250, and the first-week’s top steppers received iTunes gift cards.
Here are the winners and their total steps:
First Place: Elyssa Nielson, 9th grade. Total steps: 317,504; daily average: 21,167
Second place: Zach West, 12th grade. Total steps: 239,740; average daily steps: 15,983
Third place: Adam DuBowy, 10th grade. Total steps: 227,412; average daily steps: 15,161
