Dr. Andy Baldwin, former star of The Bachelor and Lancaster, Pa. native, makes his way through the crowd during a stop at Cumberland Valley High School on his "Cross Pennsylvania Health Ride and Fitness Days 2009" The event is aimed at spotlighting childhood obesity. 10/07/2009 SEAN SIMMERS, The Patriot-News

KIDS NEED TO BE FIT

The U.S. Navy doctor is on a weeklong, cross-state ride to bring attention to children's need for more activity and healthier diets.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Monica Kavathekar got proof that Cumberland Valley School District's after-school health and fitness expo at the high school was worth delaying her Wednesday homework.

She -- and many other students -- took cell phone camera shots of Andy Baldwin, hunky former star of the television show, "The Bachelor."

Shots of Baldwin cycling into the campus. Shots of him being greeted by the marching band and varsity cheerleaders. Shots of him in the gym talking with students and their families.

The U.S. Navy doctor, Ironman triathlete and Lancaster native didn't appear fatigued from his 60-mile bicycle trek from Bedford to Chambersburg earlier in the day.

Baldwin made Cumberland Valley a stop on his weeklong, cross-state ride to bring attention to children's need for more activity and healthier diets.

Today, he's popping into Park Elementary School in Columbia Borough School District, Lancaster County. The ride ends Saturday in Philadelphia.

Kathy Hernjak and her children, Carlie, 9, Brennan, 8, and Padraig, 4, took in the expo. Hernjak, a personal trainer, said healthy living is a family priority.

"We like all sorts of sports ... and riding bikes around our neighborhood," said Carlie, a Green Ridge Elementary School fourth-grader. "We always want to stay outside."  

Cumberland Valley School District

'Bachelor' star visits CV high

Four hundred twenty miles. Seven schools. One goal: to raise awareness about childhood obesity.

The Cross Pennsylvania Health Ride, led by Dr. Andy Baldwin — U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander, physician and former star of ABC’s “The Bachelor” — will take him and group of cyclists from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia in an effort to raise awareness about childhood obesity and offer Pennsylvanians information to improve the physical activity and nutrition of children.

After biking nearly 80 miles Wednesday, Baldwin made his fifth stop: Cumberland Valley High School.

“This is very, very special,” said Baldwin, a native of New Holland and Manheim Township. “It’s going back to my roots, to where I grew up.”

Resolutions were passed in both the state Senate and House naming the week of Oct. 4-10 “Children’s Healthy Lifestyles Week.” The afternoon rally at Cumberland Valley included a fitness expo and roundtable discussion on childhood obesity and ways to combat the epidemic.

There are 12 million overweight or obese children in the United States, said Baldwin, who has worked with the U.S. Surgeon General on the Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future Initiative, a program to fight childhood obesity. In Pennsylvania, close to 30 percent of children are overweight or obese, he added.

“What it’s going to take to stop this rise is collective action,” Baldwin said. “The question is really what drives healthy behaviors?...It’s mentors, it’s policy, it’s prevention.”

Baldwin cites an increase in processed foods and a more sedentary lifestyle as two causes of the increase.

“For those of us who are unable to ride a bike for 80 miles in a day, you can take the stairs, you can walk the dog,” said Leslie Best, director of the Bureau of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction for the state Deptment of Health, during the panel discussion.

Staying active is not a problem for Madeline Roquemore. The 13-year-old from Good Hope Middle School is an avid soccer player.

“It’s really enjoyable to know you’re staying fit and creating a healthy lifestyle, and it’s fun to do,” she said.

“I think it’s nice that they’re encouraging everyone to become fit and healthy,” said Shefali Parmar, an 11-year-old from Good Hope Middle School, adding that it’s important to stay in shape to avoid future health problems.

Dr. Paul Williams, of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians in Colonial Park, offered the adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” during the panel discussion. “It’s a lot easier to prevent something than treat it,” he added.

“Children need role models and mentors...to teach them how important it is to be physically active and why that matters,” Baldwin said. 

School District Website

www.cvschools.org

Cumberland Valley High School

Game Night: The cheerleaders

By Erica Dolson, Sentinel Reporter, November 1, 2009   

URL: www.cumberlink.com/articles/2009/10/31/news/local/doc4aecf6ba840ec931595659.prt

The 33 cheerleaders on Cumberland Valley High School’s varsity cheerleading squad line the track, standing with their feet shoulder width apart, hands extended into the air and pom-poms shimmering under the lights.

It’s 7 p.m. on a Friday night, time for kickoff.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel so excited and pumped,” says Laura Brouse, 17, one of the squad’s senior captains.

“I think we’re proud of our traditions,” head coach Kristi Shaffner says.

The Cumberland Valley cheerleading squad comes from a rich legacy of athletic talent and charity work.

They jump, tumble and have four state titles to their name. They run a food drive and volunteer as coaches at the elementary and middle schools in the district.

But on Friday nights, it’s all about football.

Actually, beginning Wednesday nights of each week, it’s all about football.

Mid-week, the cheerleaders decorate the lockers of their “buddies,” the players to whom they have been assigned, senior captain Ally Page, 17, explains.

The outside of each locker is adorned with the player’s name, encouraging quips like “Beat the ___ (insert opponent’s name)” and “Go Eagles” and newspaper photos from the previous week’s game. Inside the lockers, the cheerleaders hide treats like cakes and cupcakes, Page says.

Shaffner describes her squad as a competitive team and a spirit team. Requirements to make the squad include tumbling (a round-off, back tuck is standard), jumping and a solid academic record, as well as a genuine show of enthusiasm and excitement.

On a recent rainy Friday night, the cheerleaders lined the track of Carlisle High School’s Ken Millen Stadium wearing black uniforms with “Eagles” emblazoned on the front (their red uniforms are for warmer weather), black warm-up pants and red, water-resistant track jackets.

“Steal it — take it away,” one of the captains begins.

“Come on, defense, make that play,” 32 other voices chime in.

The coaches clap along and patrol the track, warding off any potential hecklers, as they do at every game. (“With 33 cheerleaders, you need two people,” assistant coach Colette Boyer says.)

Although the first quarter has just started, the squad has been at the field for more than two hours (in addition to their usual six to eight hours of weekday practice), reviewing chants and cheers, going over formations and setting up the megaphones that line the track.

They have already assembled and held the banner for the team to break through at the start of the game. Now, they move on to calling cheers (a process they call “passing down the line”), watching the game (a sport the majority of the squad respects and follows, like senior captain Jehnna Trautman, 17, who grew up a Penn State Nittany Lions football fan) and dancing after each touchdown (in the band’s absence this week, the squad had to sing).

“We never miss a football game,” Shaffner says.

“Ever,” Boyer adds. “We cheer in the snow, with ice on the track.”

CBS Channel 21 Cool Schools Coverage

This is the clip done by CBS Channel 21 for Cool Schools where senior cheerleader Ally Page represented the cheerleaders.  It is awesome.  Please check it out.

http://www.whptv.com/content/CoolSchools/default.aspx?articleID=142018  

CV Eye

School Newspaper Coverage of Our Cheerleaders

PEP RALLY