By Kelly Graeber

Oxford School District

Coach Larry Calhoun, the star of the Move to Learn exercise break videos, will visit the Oxford Intermediate School campus Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2016, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to introduce administrators and teachers to the Move to Learn Initiative.

A team from The Bower Foundation and the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools will accompany Coach Calhoun to present a live demonstration of the Move to Learn videos in the Oxford Intermediate School gym, which is located at 501 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Oxford. The Move to Learn videos feature Coach Calhoun leading students in simple movement exercises that can be done in a small space.

“Improving nutrition and physical activity levels for Mississippi school children is a priority; healthy children are more likely to be academically successful,” said Anne Travis, CEO of The Bower Foundation.

The foundation is partnering with the MDE’s Office of Healthy Schools to improve the health of students statewide through the program.

“Brief physical activity and increased fitness improve learning and test scores,” said Scott Clements, director of MDE Office of Healthy Schools. “With this in mind, Move to Learn was designed to be fun for students, improve learning, and assist teachers with classroom management.”

Teachers are noticing that incorporating the fitness breaks in the classroom has increased their students’ ability to learn and to focus on schoolwork.  The fitness breaks help teachers create positive learning environments and promote effective classroom management.

These brief, organized and free classroom movement breaks can help teachers manage their students’ energy levels, so that after a fitness break children’s brains are more focused and ready to learn or take a test.  The breaks were developed by Mississippians for Mississippi children. Studies have shown that physical activity increases a child’s ability to learn, and as fitness improves, test scores improve.

“When we exercise our body, we are also exercising our brain,” said Oxford Intermediate School Principal Steve Hurdle. “Our teachers are excited about having this resource in our school as we prepare students to meet education standards.”