15 schools in Gateshead from the Heworth and St Thomas More Clusters have gone Hoop Hop crazy whilst taking part in the Hoop Hop Pilot, where children hoola hoop to hip hop music as a dynamic and innovative physical activity.
Training for teachers, wider school staff, Gateshead's Sports and Leisure coaches and The Play Development Service has been provided and every school involved in the programme has received 36 hoops as well as instructional DVDs and CD.
The innovative programme has been commissioned by Public Health North East and further funding by Gateshead Council through the Extended Services Team and PCT has enabled the programme to reach even more schools and communities.
Hoop Hop, a KidTribe programme, allows children, young people and adults to engage in physical activity in a fun, alternative and accessible way. ContinYou, one of the UK’s leading learning organisations has joined forces with KidTribe to bring this exciting activity to school children in the UK.
Designed to allow for individual, group and mass participation and regularly delivered in the US to groups of 1,500 at a time, Hoop Hop has been successfully delivered to over a million children, young people and adults throughout the US and the UK. Its founder, Kellee McQuinn, is nicknamed “the Pied Piper with a Boom Box” by the LA Times and has been featured on PBS, Discovery Kids, TLC, ABC News, E! and Exercise TV in the US as well as on the BBC and STV in the UK.
Councilor Catherine Donovan, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People in Gateshead said “We welcome the Hoop Hop initiative in Gateshead. I have every confidence it can help address obesity and can make a significant contribution in encouraging children, young people and families to adopt healthier lifestyles, a vital element of Gateshead Council’s and the Gateshead Strategic Partnership’s Vision 2030”.
The Hoop Hop pilot is planned to take place over a three month period in early 2010 and will provide each school/setting and the local authority with the resources, training and support to develop and deliver a sustainable, innovative physical activity programme to engage children, young people and families.
Children and their teachers from the Heworth and St Thomas More Clusters attended two massive Hoophopalooza Extravaganza Events that took place at St Thomas More Catholic School and Gateshead Stadium's new Indoor Running Track. The events were led by Kellee McQuin and children learned how to hoola hoop to their favourite music, with loads of fun moves to go away and practice with their teachers and other students from their own schools. Check out the photos below!!!!
St Thomas More Cluster Hoophopalooza Eztravaganza
Heworth Cluster Hoophopalooza Extravaganza
