Mercer hosted its first Family Fitness Night on November 17th.

As part of a Physical Education Program (PEP) grant, all Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) middle schools have received an array of fitness and lifetime-activity equipment during the past three years. Students are now exposed to new fitness equipment as well as a newly adopted fitness and wellness curriculum.

Many parents may not have received such instruction when they were in physical education classes.  Mercer physical education teachers tell parents at Back-to-School Night that most adults are not on sports teams and the way they stay active and remain fit is by engaging in a fitness program of their choice. What LCPS physical education teachers teach are activities that one can take part in for a lifetime. When students are in high school, in college, or out in the real world, they will become the sole provider of their own fitness and much of that consists of exercises one can perform in one’s home or a gym.

During Family Fitness Night parents were introduced to simple, but effective, activities they can perform in their basement or a local fitness center. These lifetime activities and fitness exercises are now a huge component of physical education classes. About 50 percent of what is taught at Mercer consists of lifetime activities using fitness equipment.

Chiet and Sechrist solicited local businesses that provided health- and fitness-related giveaways for this event. This also was an opportunity for businesses to highlight healthy options on their menus or wellness-related services. Three certified personal trainers from Anytime Fitness also attended the event to assist, inform and educate families through a circuit of workouts. 

An incentive for students who attended Family Fitness Night was a free chocolate chip pancake breakfast, which Chiet promised would be served by a gorilla. The gorilla was true to his promise and rewarded those who attended.

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