JupiterAcademy

February 18, 2007
Jupiter Edition

It was a “heart-y” way to spend Valentine’s Day last Wednesday at Jupiter Academy.
The 126 youngsters in kindergarten through fifth grade at the private school participated in the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope For Heart event.
Students were asked to collect donations in advance of the event and raised more than $4,000, said Cindy McGee, coach/physical education teacher.
“For a small school, that’s really wonderful,” she said.
A rotating schedule was set up from about 8 a.m. to dismissal so that all the youngsters could have an opportunity to participate, McGee said.
Various stations were set up where youngsters could jump rope in hopscotch, a limbo jump, a high jump, low jump and more.
Stickers and awards were given, along with other prizes for the donations.
“But it’s not about who’s the best jumper, it’s about the fun,” she said. Middle school students volunteered to staff the stations, sometimes holding the ropes while the younger ones jumped.
The school also will receive donations of physical education equipment in-kind for the money it raised, McGee said.
Many of the students raised money and jumped in honor of loved ones who either have heart disease or have passed away.
Mycaela Everly, 10, a fourth-grader, raised $55 in honor of her grandmother, whom she affectionately called “Frommy.” “She died at age 60 from smoking and heart disease,” she said.
Shaina Wolfsie, 9, also a fourth-grader, got donations of $50 in honor of her late grandfather whom she said she never got to meet. “I always wanted to meet him and sometimes my family cried when they talk about him,” she said.
He died of heart disease while living in Naples before she was born, he said.
McGee has supervised the event at other schools, this being her first year at Jupiter Academy, she said.
“It’s always a lot of fun,” she said. “And it’s also about keeping your heart healthy.”
Michelle Cooper, youth marketing director with the American Heart Association, visited the school during her trips to 17 from Fort Pierce to Boca Raton.
She had so many to visit because Valentine’s Day “is a very popular day for this. And that’s great,” she said.
She was especially pleased with this year’s amount from Jupiter Academy. “Last year, they raised $1,200,” she said.