Healthy Highway "Driver of the Year!"

Hi everyone,

I am so excited and I have so much to tell you! Let me start at the beginning........last week on Monday, Mrs. Cooper, the creator of Healthy Highway came to stay at Mrs. R's house the night before our big assembly! Mr. R. made a great dinner with grilled chicken in a healthy salad of lettuce, tomatoes, green and orange peppers, carrots, and almonds! Mrs. Cooper loved it! (me too!) Mrs. R. and Mrs. C. talked about how much we had accomplished during our first year of Healthy Highway at North Park! They even talked about some ideas for next year! We were all very excited about the assembly that was going to take place on Tuesday! It was to be a celebration of our first year on the Healthy Highway and an introduction of our last road for this year - "Victory Lane". Mrs. R. showed the boys and girls a picture of a race car driver in Victory Lane after winning a race. She said that it was hard to pick out the driver because he was celebrating with everyone in his Pit Crew. I learned that it's important to have a Pit Crew to help you be successful! Mrs. R. asked the boys and girls who was in their Pit Crew and they had great answers! They said that their parents, teachers, friends, and family were all a part of their Pit Crew! I thought about my Pit Crew and I am so lucky to have Mr. and Mrs. R., Mrs. C., and everyone at North Park in my Pit Crew! Miss H. also reminded the boys and girls to cheer for those who had the courage to do the right thing. Then, something amazing happened! Mrs. C. gave me a special award. She gave me the Healthy Highway "Driver of the Year" Award! I was so surprised! I even got a new Healthy Highway shirt to wear! On the back it says "What's in YOUR fuel tank?" I also met a new friend - "Baking Bella". She is from Rochester and goes to a school where Mrs. C. used to teach. That's us in the picture! After my award was given, Mrs. R. got a new shirt just like mine and everyone at North Park got a special award too! They received the Healthy Highway "Green Light to Good Health Award"! Everyone was so proud! Next, we saw a slide show that had pictures of our Healthy Highway activities this year and I was in many of the pictures! Finally, we danced! Mrs. C. danced with us too and taught us a few new moves! We had a ball! It was a great day! The pictures of our assembly will be up on the North Park Website soon! I can't wait to see what we are going to do next! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Weekend Adventure with Ms. V!

Hi everyone,
This weekend I went and hung out with Ms. V. We were very busy! Ms. V. is learning a new language called Arabic! On Friday after school she brought me to her class and taught me how to say "al tal e boon, ja de doon" which means: "I am the new student"! I even practiced saying it to all my new friends in the class!
On Saturday we traveled to Teaneck, NJ, where Ms. V. had a soccer game against other women. Some were even other teachers from New Jersey! Ms. V's team won and I helped score a goal! It was a lot of good exercise and I felt healthy running around with my teammates! We shared oranges and water after the game. Boy was I thirsty!
Ms. V. and I went to Millbrook, NY on Sunday. I even got to go swimming at the Country Club where Ms. V. works during the summer! I met all of the lifeguards and they showed me how to be safe around the pool. The lifeguards were getting the pool ready for Memorial Day Weekend. Memorial Day is a national holiday. It's when we celebrate and remember all of the soldiers who fought for our country! It also marks the beginning of the summer when all of the pools open! Yay!
I had a great weekend! I can't wait to see who I spend time with next! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Adventure in the Cafeteria!

Hi everyone,

I spent this past week sitting in the cafeteria while my friends made their choices during lunch. There are so many choices at North Park! Mrs. S. is the cafeteria manager and she was so nice to me! She let me sit on the cash register and watch my friends choose lunch and snack every day! I was very happy to see that my friends were drinking milk to make their bones strong and choosing fruits and vegetables and many green light foods! That's me in the picture with all of the healthy fruit and milk choices! One of my friends even gave me a hug on the way by! This week I am going to meet Mrs. C! She created Healthy Highway! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Adventure at the Dance Recital!

Hi everyone,

I got to spend Saturday and Sunday with the dancers from Dream Studio. I learned all about ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip-hop. I even got to dance and learn Irish dance steps! The best part of the whole weekend was watching the girls dancing in their beautiful performance on Sunday! They danced their little hearts out! One of the dances was even to "Life is a Highway"! How cool was that! That's OUR theme song! Congratulations girls! It was wonderful to see how all of your hard work paid off! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Adventure at the SEZ Awards Ceremony!

Hi everyone,

This weekend, Mrs. R. took me to the Elementary/Middle School PE Awards Ceremony sponsored by the Southeastern Zone (SEZ) of the New York State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance! It was a very important day for the students and PE teachers! PE teachers nominated students for this award for excellence in PE! Mrs. R. nominated Ian, Jake, Melanie, and Natalie from our school and we were so proud of them as they received their award! There were lots of moms and dads who were very proud too! These students showed great character! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Golf Adventure!

Hi everyone,

I have had so much fun at North Park while I travel down the Healthy Highway! My adventures continue at the golf course! Mrs. R. and Miss H. played golf after school this week and brought me along! Golf is a great physical activity because you walk so much! I actually got to ride in Mrs. R's golf bag, but Mrs. R. and Miss H. walked the whole course! It was a beautiful day and I learned that perseverance is very important when you play golf because it is a hard sport to learn. Did you know that many people play golf well into their eighties? That's why they call it a lifetime sport! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Adventures with Mrs. R.!

Hi everyone,

I got to go home with Mrs. R. yesterday! We had a great dinner that included a salad that Mr. R. made with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, and carrots, and we also had a chicken pasta dish! Then, this morning, Mrs. R. woke me up VERY early! It was 6:00 am! She said that it was time to exercise so off we went to IXL, the fitness center that Mrs. R. belongs to! She introduced me to the manager, and I got to sit on the counter where all of the members check in! Next we went to an "elliptical" machine. That's me sitting on it in the picture! This is a machine for exercising and making your heart, lungs, and muscles strong! Mrs. R. exercised on the machine for about 35 minutes until she had reached more than 5,000 steps! I was tired just watching her (my legs are too short or I would have been on an elliptical too......)! We drank plenty of water after the exercise and then we went home to get ready for our day at North Park. I had a great time (even though I will need to go to bed early tonight because I am exhausted)! Mrs. R. tells me that later this week I am going to play golf and then go to a dance recital this weekend! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Weekend Adventure!

Hi everyone,
Mrs. R. is letting me go home with some of the adults at North Park during May so that I can exercise and eat healthy foods with them! This past weekend I went home with Mrs. B. for the weekend. I was quite a busy bear! On Friday night I went to a track meet in New Paltz to watch Mrs. B's boys Michael and Ryan run. I even traveled across the Mid-Hudson Bridge and I was able to see some boats in the Hudson River. When I was at the track meet I was able to run in one of the races. I did not come in in the top five for my race, but I really did try my best. While I was at the track meet I even saw Alexa from Mrs. F's class! It was fun to see someone I knew from school. Then on Saturday morning I was able to go to gymnastics with Olivia, Mrs. B's daughter. I had a great time there too! Olivia's teachers helped me to hang from the bar both by my hands and then upside down. I have to admit, hanging upside down was a little scary. The best part of gymnastics was jumping across the tumble track (that's kind of like a trampoline) with Olivia. She held my hands and made sure that I jumped safely. Finally, on Sunday I went to the baseball field to watch Michael and Ryan play two games of baseball. When I was at the games I was actually able to take a few turns trying to hit the ball, but that is hard work. To take a break I spent some time running around and then sitting on the bleachers to watch the game. After I was done I actually went home to enjoy a little nap. I can't wait to see where my next set of adventures will take me! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Adventure in Mrs. B's Class!

Hi everyone,
I spent the week with Mrs. B's second grade. What a fun and adventurous week it was!
Each morning began with helping my friends with morning work. I was adding and subtracting double-digit numbers, practicing my spelling words in cursive, and making Mother's Day gifts.
After morning work, I worked hard learning about non-fiction topics during Writer's Workshop. There was so much research to do in books and on the internet.
Then I was able to have some fun during Literacy Station time. I especially liked sorting "oo" words, listening to plant books on tape, coming up with adjectives and reading books with my friends. I learned that there is another kind of highway besides "Healthy Highway". I learned about how a tree's "highway" works!
Next, I enjoyed learning about FDR and his pet dog Fala. FDR was the 32nd President of the United States. Fala was specially trained to live in the White House with the Roosevelts. Too bad I won't be going on their field trip to FDR next week!
And talk about fun......I got to go outside and see baby bluebirds that hatched in Mrs. B's birdhouse! The bluebirds were sleeping and covered with their down feathers. The mother bluebird watched us from a tree branch as we quietly peeked in the birdhouse. I also planted beans in a bottle. Hopefully, I can come back to visit their room to see if the bluebirds left their nest and if the beans grew!
On Wellness Wednesday, I help our class nutritionist make sure that each child had a healthy snack. I nibbled on some pretzels, apples, 100% fruit bar, and a Fiber One bar which really filled me up for a long time! Then I washed my food down with some refreshing spring water!
During PE this week I learned some exercises to make your muscles strong! I learned how to do "Push-up Taps", and "Nerf Ball Leg Lifts"! I also learned some new dances! I learned "Jump Jim Joe", and Can't Jump Josie"! During this week we were also celebrating National Physical Education and Sport Week and Mrs. R. read an important quote about Physical Fitness each day during the announcements. I learned something new every day!
Last, I joined our entire school for Project ACES. Project ACES means All Children Exercising Simultaneously. This is a national project where children all throughout the United States exercise during this week! Our entire school exercised outside together. It was wonderful to see our school working together and being successful! Project ACES was a great highway trail to Sucess Circle (The road we are traveling down this month!). You can see some great pictures (even me!) by clicking on the words Project ACES. Thanks to my friends in Mrs. B's class for a great week! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie

Fitness Frankie's Weekend with Ms. P!

Hi everyone,

Mrs. R. is letting me go home with the adults at North Park during May because May 1-7 is National Physical Education and Sport Week and we do a special project called "Operation Healthy North Park" during the whole month of May! Ms. P took me home with her this past weekend and I had a wonderful time! Mrs. R. is going to put up some pictures soon! I started my Friday evening off by gardening around the house. I got to ride in a wheelbarrow! On Saturday afternoon I visited Mills Mansion! It is a great historical estate! While I was visiting Mills Mansion I decided to get my daily exercise by walking up the hill to visit the mansion. It was a great walk but a big hill! After walking up the hill I decided to cool down by the Hudson River. Next time I visit Mills Mansion, I would like to go swimming! On Sunday afternoon, I spent some time riding a bicycle with my new friend Suzie Bear. Suzie Bear and I also played a game of catch! During the weekend I also ate some healthy snacks. I age mangos, oranges and a pineapple! Ms. P. took such good care of me! I had an awesome time! This week I am being taken care of by Mrs B's class! My adventure continues! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie.

Fitness Frankie's Adventures in Ms. P's Class!

I spent the week in Ms. P’s and Ms. M's class. I had a blast! When I arrived on Monday they were getting ready to start their Writing activities. The second graders were starting a research project on a book of their choice. They welcomed me into their Writing group and I was able to pick a book I was interested in learning about. I chose to research Motorcycles, since I already know a lot about cars. I found out that a sport bike is a motorcycle built to race!

On Tuesday I continued more Writing and participated in spelling activities with both the second and third graders. During Math, I learned about different types of triangles with the third graders.

When Wednesday arrived, I was waiting in their classroom and ready to learn some more! I learned all about multiplication. I know that if I have two rows of seat in my race car and there are 2 people sitting in each row, I will have a total of total of 4 people sitting in my race car! Multiplying is so much fun! I almost forgot to tell you all the wonderful, healthy foods I ate. I had apple sauce, strawberries, yogurt and bananas. I drank lots of water throughout the day.

Thursday was tons of fun. Even though it was a half-day, I worked really hard and finished my rough draft about Motorcycles. I was filled with joy when I participated in Musical Chair Spelling. When it was time for my friends to leave, Ms. Palermo decided to finish the last song that was playing. I got a lot of exercise singing and dancing to the rest of the song.

Fitness Friday is one of my favorite days of the week. Friday began with a trip to the cafeteria for the Healthy Highway Assembly. During the assembly all my friends exercised to the Life is a Highway song. Boy was I pumped! I ended my fitness Friday fun by gardening in the North Park Gardens. I can’t wait to find out where I will be next week! I LOVE Healthy Highway! Love, Fitness Frankie.