Are you fitter than a fidth-grader? by Michelle Libby

On Wednesday, all of the fifth-graders from George E. Jack School in Standish visited with students at Saint Joseph’s College to compete in “Are you fitter than a fifth-grader?” The brain child of Maureen LaSalle, director of Alfond Center, events and wellness at Saint Joseph’s College, the competition consisted of 10 events, from minute-to-win-it and relays to obstacle courses and trivia. 

“Everyone is a winner today,” said Jenna Chase, wellness coordinator and summer housing specialist from St. Joe’s. Each of the 105 students received a certificate and a card for one free pass for admission to the pool for them and a family member. 

Between 40 and 50 St. Joe’s students worked the event, leading the challenges and monitoring the students. In the minute-to-win-it game the fifth-graders tied a Kleenex box filled with ping pong balls on to their back and while wearing a pedometer, they had to jump up and down to empty the box. There was a basketball head-to-head challenge, where a line of fifth-graders competed against three St. Joe’s students who were blindfolded. (The students won.)
“We always talked about getting St. Joe’s into the community. We have such a robust wellness program on campus that we want to actively bring that into the community,” said LaSalle.