Make “game time” a productive activity for your kids by putting a household “electronic strategy” in play for the new school year. GameTruck, a leading advocate for positive gaming practices, offers five tips and resources for regulating family screen time in the current issue of Active Alex at activealex.com.
Students benefit from the experience of professionals as they learn the art of dance as well as the steps at Infinity Ballet Conservatory and Theatre in Apex. Read about how students have fun as they train and check out their great photo in the current issue of Active Alex at http://www.activealex.com/Infinity.aspx.
More than a dozen Wake County public and private schools are winners of the inaugural Advocates for Health in Action (AHA) Brains & Bodies Award for going the extra mile to increase physical activity and nutrition opportunities. See the list on Page 15 of the current free issue of Active Alex available at area locations or downloadable at activealex.com. If you are interested in having your school participate, take a look at the 2011 application and best practices at advocatesforhealthinaction.org under School Health.
It’s not always easy to save time and eat healthy. But health and fitness specialist Paula Quinene offers viable solutions for breakfast and lunch: Healthy pancake, waffle and muffin batters that you can keep in the fridge until you’re ready AND the “Rule of Two” to ease the lunch bag dilemma. We use Paula’s “Rule of Two” each week – she got our school year off to a great start and we’re still going strong! Learn Paula’s tips in issues #3 and #4 of Active Alex – free at area locations and online at activealex.com.
While gathering information for our recent The Dreaded Ankle Sprain story on local athlete Audrey Diener and her experience with chiropractic care in general and with Dr. David Creech specifically, we learned that Audrey is a pole vaulter. How cool is that?! Pole vaulting is one of those sports that takes place in slow motion in the mind – elegance suspended in mid-air. Like the slam-dunk. When asked how Audrey came to be a pole vaulter, we expected to hear an inspirational story about seeing it in the Olympics or her grandmother was a pole vaulter. Instead, Audrey’s mother, Karla, told Active Alex, “We were looking for a winter sport.” We LOVE it!!! THAT is what it’s about – looking at all the options for staying active. So now we’re working on a story for our next issue with Spencer Frame of Kinesis Dynamic Athletics who is operating out of Athletic Lab in Cary. Coach Frame is one of the area’s few pole vault coaches, and this is a wide-open athletics opportunity. Active Alex can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Championship Martial Arts in the Tryon Woods Shopping Center in Cary has expanded! They now have a bigger space and are offering an afterschool program in addition to their regular classes, adult fitness classes and teacher workday camps. Check them out or plan to take a free class during their Fall Festival 10/29!
Durant Middle School student Sydney Snead is one of the nation’s most talented young gymnasts. The 14-year-old athlete, who trains at Sonshine Gymnastics in Holly Springs, recently placed seventh in the all-around competition at the U.S. Gymnastics Junior Olympics in Long Beach, Calif. Read about how Sydney handles practice and pressure in the current issue (2011 #4) of Active Alex.
Wake County’s arts and sports communities are celebrating the openings of new facilities: Holly Springs’ Hunt Recreation Center, the Stars Theater and Arts Center’s new home in Fuquay-Varina, the Cary Arts Center, Alpha Athletics’ new gym in Cary and the Cary Ballet Conservatory Dance Annex. Details are in issue #4 of Active Alex, available free at area locations and in a PDF at activealex.com.
International Ballet Academy (IBA) did something unusual this year – the studio had nine dancers qualify for and compete in the World Ballet Competition in Orlando, Florida, in May. Administrative director Christina Fanney tells Active Alex that most studios focus on their own recitals, which the IBA dancers did while also preparing for the big competition. But for these dancers to achieve their ultimate goal of a career in dance, they must leave Cary for competitions such as this and for summer intensive programs. Simply put: Dancers must be seen. Financially speaking, it’s tough for studios to go without their dancers for a while. But if studios really want their dancers to achieve, the dancers’ needs MUST come first. Fanney tells Active Alex that artistic directors Miguel Campaneria and Rossana Gahagan do a great job of truly wanting what’s best for a dancer, and Preston Chamblee is an example of how a dancer benefits from that philosophy. When all is said and done, wanting what’s best for its dancers should work out for IBA by attracting more dancers. The World Ballet Competition was a great experience and exposure for the IBA dancers and for IBA itself. The Cary-based dancers came away with medals and scholarships, and they received invitations to summer intensives with no audition. We’ll look forward to learning where those opportunities lead.
Rumor has it Simply Dance Now made an appearance at Girl Scout day-camp at Ritter Park last week. Maggie Witter brought her great enthusiasm to teach the girls the Jitterbug and a few other dances. They loved it! Being Active Alex, we were able figure out who it was from what our camper told us and then got Maggie’s flyer on the last day. Brilliant on the part of the Girl Scouts and Simply Dance Now!
This camp now comes highly recommended by our 8-year-old Y-Princess. Some of her friends were doing it and, being a former Girl Scout, I thought she might like it. The Girl Scouts allow one to sign-up as part of camp registration so officially now, I guess she’s a Girl Scout without a troop. I told her to think about this as a trial run – most Y-Guides & Princesses usually stop after the 3rd grade but scouting (both Boys and Girls) is an option that can be considered after that.
The new and intricate crafts that are now being done in my home were the best part – but the older Girl Scouts were key, too. This camp was affordable and fun – but you have to sign up early!
