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Home > Press > RECENT PRESS RELEASES > Oct 5, 2011 - MAYOR BOOKER AND NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS LAUNCH “LET’S MOVE! NEWARK: OUR POWER” AT EAST SIDE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWARK’S EAST WARD

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Oct 5, 2011 - MAYOR BOOKER AND NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS LAUNCH “LET’S MOVE! NEWARK: OUR POWER” AT EAST SIDE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWARK’S EAST WARD



For Immediate Release
 
MAYOR BOOKER AND NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOLS LAUNCH “LET’S MOVE! NEWARK: OUR POWER
AT EAST SIDE HIGH SCHOOL IN NEWARK’S EAST WARD
Students will wear high-tech monitoring devices to achieve goals in four-month health challenge;
Program part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! National Campaign
 
Newark, NJ – October 5, 2011 – Mayor Cory A. Booker, East Ward Council Member Augusto Amador, Deputy Mayor of Neighborhood Engagement Margarita Muñiz, Newark Public Schools Deputy Chief Academic Officer Roger Leon, East Side High School Principal Mario Santos, Ph.D. and Let’s Move! Newark: Our Power (LM!NOP) creator and Behavioral Health & Fitness Expert Jeff Halevy and New Jersey Nets General Manager Billy King were joined by 200 East Side High School freshmen today, to announce the launch of “Let’s Move! Newark: Our Power.” The four-month fitness challenge was launched at East Side High School, at 238 Van Buren Street, in the city’s East Ward. After the launch, Zumba and Yoga classes were held for the students, along with football and basketball activities, which took place at Independence Park with New York Giant football star Tiki Barber and former New Jersey Nets star Kerry Kittles.
 
“Jeff Halevy and all of our Let’s Move Newark! Our Power sponsors put faith in us as a community,” said Mayor Booker. “They are giving us the tools, resources, instruction and inspiration to create a healthier city. “Childhood and adult obesity are national problems and growing epidemics, but we are going to solve it in Newark, by partnering with organizations and people to create local-based change that empowers families, neighborhoods and youth to manifest healthy minds, bodies and spirits. Education should not only be about reading and math, but should also support healthier lifestyles. I applaud our high school students who are setting the pace for our city by being our vanguards of good health.”
 
“The Nets are proud to team with Mayor Booker to support the Lets Move! Newark initiative,” said Nets General Manager Billy King.  “It’s important to encourage kids to be active and stay fit, and the MYTRACK device supplied to the kids as part of this program is an ingenious way to get them focused on being active everyday.  If you are in shape and you are active, your mind works better, you feel better and you have more energy.”  
 
Some 1,500 students from Barringer, Central, East Side, Weequahic, and West Side high schools will take part in the LM!NOP fitness challenge from October to the end of January 2012.  LM!NOP will call on students to move more and achieve 3 different levels of physical fitness, based on CDC (Center for Disease Control) guidelines:
  • 60 minutes of daily physical activity for 25 out of 30 calendar days
  • 60 minutes of daily physical activity for 50 out of 60 calendar days
  • 60 minutes of daily physical activity for 75 out of 90 calendar days
 
“We are grateful to all of our public and private partners who helped to make the launch of this new initiative successful. LM!NOP will strengthen our efforts to create more opportunities for our residents, particularly our youth, to lead healthier lifestyles, which promote healthier communities. I applaud all of our high school students who are participating in this initiative. As our future, they are leading the way to a stronger and healthier Newark,” said Deputy Mayor Muñiz, who added that this initiative is the first of its kind in the nation.
 
 “Let’s Move! Newark: Our Power, focuses on increasing the amount of time kids move and exercise. We commend the Mayor and the various sponsors who worked diligently to provide this opportunity for students to consider lifestyle changes that directly impact their academic performance, attitudes, and future,” said Mr. Leon.
 
Each participating student will receive a cutting edge, smaller than a credit card, wearable health device called MYTRAK. The device measures duration of physical activity as well as its intensity.  The high tech devices were donated to the school districtthrough collaboration with Jeff Halevy, MYTRAK and the City of Newark.  MYTRAK will tabulate the amount of physical activity that each student performs. Students will be encouraged to wear these high-tech monitoring devices that will light up bright green, indicating that 60 minutes of physical activity has been achieved. Students may wear the devices to measure brisk walking, exercises, sport activities at home and in school. The devices will be set to measure activity levels that reach 25 minutes during a 30-day time period; 50 minutes during a 60-day time period; and 75 minutes during a 95-day time period.
 
“I’m thrilled to be a part of something so instrumental in an adolescent’s development and honored to join Michelle Obama and Cory Booker’s Let’s Move! Initiative,” said Jeff Halevy, creator of Let’s Move! Newark: Our Power. “LM!NOP goes beyond awareness and creates a real, tangible system that inspires change and growth both physically and mentally for future generations.” Mr. Halevy is the CEO of Halevy Life, an integrative health and fitness company in New York. Mr. Halevy’s mission is to create life-long healthy change, both internally and externally, in his clients and the public at large. As a result of his mission’s success, Halevy has been hailed as a “fitness guru” and “star fitness and nutrition expert” by leading local and national media.
 
District physical education teachers, who received prior training on the monitoring devices, will monitor student progress and submit weekly reports until the culmination of the program. LM!NOP participants with the highest readings of activity will receive prizes at the end of each phase.  A culminating event will include a grand prize for the school with the most minutes moved and prizes for the top student, from each of the five schools represented at the kick-off event, with the most minutes moved.
 
“The goal of this initiative is to encourage students to be more active.  It is the first time we have participated in a fitness program on this level.  We thank First Lady Michelle Obama and Mayor Cory Booker for bringing local and national attention to the importance of fitness in young people’s lives.  The Halevy Life and MYTRAK are to be commended for providing state-of-art devices to help us take this movement to the next level,” said Elizabeth Aranjo, Director of the Office of Health and Physical Education for Newark Public Schools.
 
“Staying active in sports is important to me, because I know the benefits and how it contributes to my life,” said East Side High School freshman and Soccer Team member Austin Verissimo, who introduced Mayor Booker during the program. “The MYTRAK monitor will help remind me to stay active and be healthy.”
 
The health and well-being of Newark’s residents is a priority for the Booker Administration. At his Fourth Annual State of the City Address on February 9, 2010, the Mayor announced that he will serve as National Co-Chair of First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity. TheCity has implemented programs such programs as “Super Healthy Summer,” the annual Newark Bicycle Tour, and public festivals like the Festival de la Familia Latina, which focused on good health practices and nutritious eating. The City has also provided economic grants and loans to stores that sell fresh food, through the Brick City Development Corporation’s Fresh Foods Program and Small Grocer Initiative. The “Let’s Move! Newark” campaign will promote healthy lifestyles, nutritious eating, and efforts to help obese people regain control of their health.
 
For information about any City of Newark program or policy, contact the Non-Emergency Call Center at (973) 733-4311.
 
-NEWARK-
 
Contact:         Press Information Office: (973) 733-8004
                        E-mail: Pressoffice@ci.newark.nj.us
                        Newark Public Schools: (973) 733-7338
                        Michelle Baldwin, mbaldwin@nps.k12.nj.us
                        Halevy Life: (212) 333-7728, ext. 123
                        Laura Carlucci, laurac@susanblondinc.com
 
 
About Let’s Move! Newark
Let’s Move! Newarkwas established on October 10, 2010 by Mayor Booker, as a result of the drastic increase in the occurrence of childhood obesity in children residing in the City of Newark. Working with existing pertinent data, studies, and reports to accurately identify and address a variety of precursors to childhood obesity, the City aims to significantly reduce the occurrence of childhood obesity in the City of Newark. The program is being overseen by the Newark Youth Policy Board and the Let’s Move! Newark Council. Let’s Move! Newark is part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! National Campaign, aimed at reducing national childhood obesity within a generation.
 
About Jeff Halevy
Jeff Halevy is a Behavioral Health and Fitness Expert and the CEO of Halevy Life, an integrative health and fitness company in New York. Jeff’s distinctive expertise has lead to segments on various network television outlets as well as stories in Forbes, Men’s Health and SELF. He earned his Behavioral Health credentials in Neuro Linguistic Programming and Ericksonian Hypnosis at The NLP Center of New York and his Exercise Science credentials from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the C.H.E.K. Institute. Jeff Halevy lives by and teaches the notion that “tomorrow becomes never;” if change is going to happen, it has to happen now. He strives to improve the quality of people’s lives and continues to do so every single day. For more information on Jeff Halevy please visit http://www.jeffhalevy.com.
 
About The Newark Public Schools
The Newark Public Schools District is the largest and one of the oldest school systems in New Jersey.  The district serves approximately 39,000 students in 75 schools ranging from Pre-K to twelfth grade, and employs approximately 6,000 staff within the schools and Central Office. The district has been under state operation since 1995.
 
About the City of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, commonly referred to as Brick City, is the third oldest city in the United States and the largest in New Jersey, with a population of more than 280,000 people. Newark sits on one of the nation’s largest transportation super-structures including an international airport, major commuter and freight rail lines, major highway intersections and the busiest seaport on the east coast.
 
With a new Administration as of July 2006, Newark continues to see signs of a strong revival. Its population showed growth in the most recent census. Its six major colleges and universities are further expanding their presence. The rate of production of affordable housing has doubled, and new businesses are moving in. There is still much work to be done but Newark is on its way to achieving its mission: to set a national standard for urban transformation.
 
For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.ci.newark.nj.us
 
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