NHS to open ‘fish bowl’ for exercise during final games

After a strong turnout and successful kick-off event, the Newton Wellness Coalition decided at its Wednesday meeting to continue the workout during the remaining home basketball games.

Designated the “Healthy Home Team,” community members are invited to workout in the second floor gym — affectionately known as the fish bowl — during the final home games of the season.

“We had at least a handful of people asking, ‘Can you do this all of the time?’ or ‘Why isn’t this open all of the time?’” coalition member Robyn Friedman said.

Following the requests, she spoke with athletic director Scott Garvis and superintendent Bob Callaghan to OK the idea with the school district and both agreed it was a great idea. Callaghan has participated in the workout kick-off event the past several years with the coalition.

With the approval, the Wellness Coalition plans to have pilot dates for the program at three of the final basketball games. Those dates are the 6:15 p.m. girls varsity game and the 7:30 p.m. boys varsity game on Monday, the girls and boys varsity games at the same time on Tuesday and the 7:30 p.m. boys varsity game on Feb. 15.

The workout area will be restricted to those in middle school or older and a sign up sheet will be available to schedule a time to exercise.

“It is a fun way to watch the game,” Friedman said.

For additional information about the workout schedule, contact the coalition on its Facebook page.

In other business:

• Work is continuing on the healthy snack program for kindergartens, with the coalition meeting with the United Way of Jasper County about grant funding.

• Coalition Member Nathan Unsworth reported the group’s website is almost complete and should be up and running in the next month.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com