Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Riverview

Fitter faculty feels the loss

Teachers and staff at Ippolito Elementary School are competing to see which team will lose the most weight by May 15.

By LETITIA STEIN
Published April 22, 2005

Something is missing from Ippolito Elementary.

Gone is the candy bowl in the front office. Sugary beverages no longer abound at the teacher's lounge. There has been a run on salads in the cafeteria.

Teachers and staff aren't mourning the loss when they climb onto the weight scale in the nurse's office. In three weeks, the faculty collectively has lost 234 pounds.

"We've lost two whole people now," said Ippolito health assistant Kathy Sarnowski, cheering the early results from the school's first weight loss challenge.

Sarnowski organized the schoolwide weight loss challenge for Ippolito employees; 50 teachers and employees signed up for the nine-week competition.

"When you become competitive, people kind of do things easier," Sarnowski said.

Ippolito has crafted an innovative response to concerns about a nation of expanding waistlines. Hillsborough County's school policy requires that health officials monitor the weight of students - and send home notes to parents about concerns. But adults need help too.

About half of the school's nearly 100 faculty members signed up for her challenge, which they are calling the "Fabulous Fifty Fat Fanny Club." Sarnowski helped participants identify their ideal weight. She divided them into 10 teams. Each needed to lose the overall pounds.

Before summer vacation, Ippolito's employees want to drop a total of 640 pounds.

There is more than pride at stake. Each participant has chipped in $10 for an incentive to stay on track. The winning team will claim $500. The school also will offer a day at a spa to the individual who loses the most weight.

The spirited challenge has spawned team with names like "Gut Busting Otters" and the "Chunky Chicks." The "Krispy Kreme Dream Team" brought in doughnuts to tempt competitors into cheating. But they did not find many takers.

"Only skinny teachers ate them," says team member Dianne Birkhead, a school secretary.

Teachers are even taking the challenge to the streets. After school, several teams walk together on Falkenburg Road. A few lift weights in the classroom.

Ippolito's teachers and staffers have received positive feedback from district leaders for the weight-loss effort. Participants hope they become role models to encourage students to eat healthier.

"We're all working together to boost each other up and get that last pound down," third-grade teacher Cassie Richard said.

Letitia Stein can be reached at 661-2443 or lstein@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 21, 2005, 08:33:10]