Cranbury teachers are learning that fitness can be fun

School’s staff members are participating in the Faculty Fitness Challenge.

By: Lacey Korevec
   Sneakers have been the footwear of choice lately at Cranbury School.
   For the past two weeks, teachers, faculty members and administrators have been sporting little black pedometers around their ankles, wrists and on their waistlines to measure the number of steps they walk each day at work and at home.
   The Faculty Fitness Challenge, a new, seven-week program developed by Cranbury School Nurse Beverly Gerberich, has got most of them aiming for three to four miles worth of steps each day.
   Ms. Gerberich said she introduced the program to promote staff wellness and to challenge faculty members to think more about fitness. So far, more than 23 faculty members are participating, she said.
   "I think it’s a great way to be aware of how much activity you do on a daily basis and to push yourself to do a little more," she said. "And that’s actually the reaction I’m getting back from a lot of teachers. The whole purpose is to get them thinking about fitness and that it can be part of your daily life. It doesn’t have to be a trip to the gym if you’re not that kind of person. Weave it into your life."
   Ms. Gerberich supplied faculty members with Excel spreadsheets so that they can report their steps each day. By the end of the challenge, Ms. Gerberich said, she’s going to add up everyone’s steps and see how far the participants have walked.
   Participants were able to choose whether they wanted to walk 10,000 steps a day, totaling about 300,000 to 490,000 steps by the last day of the challenge or walk, run, bike or swim 200 miles over the 7seven-week period, she said.
   Ms. Gerberich said the program accommodates people of all lifestyles, whether they’re already very active or not.
   "You don’t have to be a super athlete to do it," she said. "If you don’t make the 10,000 a day, give yourself a personal challenge. That’s what I tell them. And I’m doing it too and it’s helping me to meet my goals as well. And it’s great stress relief."
   Gloria Hibbs, child study team secretary, said she’s been a devoted walker all her life. She walks two miles with her dog each morning before work and then walks back and forth from her home on Brainerd Drive to Cranbury School four times a day, in the morning, in the afternoon and during her lunch break.
   "It’s just the exercise that I love and I can’t imagine not doing it," she said. "So, when this activity at the school came up, I was right there with it."
   She said the challenge has encouraged her to walk even more each day. She now takes an additional two-mile walk with her dog after work and has exceeded the daily 10,000 steps every day since the challenge started March 5.
   Ms. Hibbs said she plans to continue exceeding 10,000 steps a day and is already feeling the effects.
   "It is the most wonderful experience for me," she said. "I think with any fitness program, you need to find something that you enjoy. I’m fortunate that I do enjoy walking. In fact, I love it. I can’t imagine not having it a part of my life."
   The challenge has also made faculty members enthusiastic about their health and has motivated them to work together to accomplish a common goal each day, she said.
   "I think perhaps some people who haven’t been committed to a fitness program are realizing the benefits for themselves," Ms. Hibbs said. "Doing it in a group like this, you sometimes become a little competitive and that’s definitely a good thing."
   Chief School Administrator Carol Malouf said she and the staff are having a lot of fun with the challenge, whether they lose any pounds or not.
   "Anything that gets the staff to develop a camaraderie, have a focused goal together that we can laugh about and joke about, always helps develop staff morale," she said, adding that the real challenge for her has been getting her pedometer to work correctly.
   Ms. Gerberich said she hopes to continue offering other programs like the Faculty Fitness Challenge in the future to keep everyone focused on their health.
   "I’d like to get more programs in and see how we can transfer this over to the children and think about how we can weave more fitness into their lives," she said.
   Upper grade English teacher Meredith Montenare wears her pedometer on the belt loop of her pants and has been spotted by students walking the school’s halls with co-workers each day in between classes and during lunch and coffee breaks.
   "Even the kids have noticed that teachers are wearing sneakers and obviously that’s a result of this task because most of us don’t enjoy walking in heels," she said. "Although, some of us have been known to do that if we forget our sneakers. So sneakers or no sneakers, we’re still walking."