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Body By Milk: Get Fit By Finals

Cortland High School Gets Fit By Finals & Scores $15,000 Gym Makeover

Jill Pace, District Health and Wellness Coordinator at Cortland High School, made a resolution that 2009 was going to be a healthy year for her high school students. In February, Cortland High School, along with schools nationwide, received a Get Fit By Finals toolkit and began the challenge of getting their students fit by finals.

A Get Fit By Finals Rally was held on June 11th where NBA Legend Derrick Coleman presented Cortland High School with a $15,000 gym makeover, WNBA All-Star Diana Taurasi addressed students with a personalized satellite message of congratulations and Byrne Dairy provided milk to celebrate all the students’ hard work.

Pace took advantage of the school toolkit, which featured expert fitness and nutrition videos, NBA tips and drills, plus posters and banners featuring NBA and WNBA All-Stars Chris Paul and Diana Taurasi. More than 115 Cortland High School students participated in the program! In addition to the toolkit, it was Pace’s innovative ideas that helped propel the school into the limelight as the national contest winner. Cortland High School got into the game by:

• Scheduling presentations for all physical education and health classes where:
  • Get Fit By Finals videos were shown, as well as demonstrations of how to effectively use the Personal Fitness Tracker located at bodybymilk.com. Participating students received extra credit.
  • Students had the opportunity to sign up for the Get Fit By Finals Challenge right after the presentation.
• Creating Get Fit By Finals Days that included:
  • Sharing “daily drills” to improve health during morning announcements.
  • Providing raffle tickets to anyone who purchased milk for a chance to win healthy prizes like jump ropes, free weights and stopwatches.
• Including program information on the school’s Website.
• Encouraging staff to serve as mentors and role models.

"Students have actually stopped me and said 'I’ve been so much healthier since I have been using the fitness tracker. I really am eating better and feeling better; it’s actually working,'" said Pace. "The program was easy to execute and the kids loved that it was connected to the iconic got milk? Campaign with big-name athletes."

Download Free Get Fit Tools for Your School: Download NOW!

MilkPEP and the NBA have provided lots of free and easy-to-use resources to help you get your student body fit. You can use these tools anytime!

Tool Kit includes:

• Celebrity PA announcements with NBA and WNBA athletes Chris Paul and Diana Taurasi to help encourage your students to Get Fit and drink milk!
• NBA player videos for in-class TV and school Websites.
• Reproducible nutrition handouts from Orlando Magic sports dietitian, Tara Gidus for use in the classroom and on student notice boards.
• Gym class drills prepared by New York Knicks strength and conditioning coach Greg Brittenham.
• "Daily Drills" - Daily fitness and nutrition tips to post to school message boards or Websites.

NOTE: Any references in these materials to the "Get Fit By Finals Challenge" or any contests/prizes are no longer valid.