If you’ve noticed a lot of healthy looking people walking around campus, it could be because JSU has had a PAL visiting yesterday and today.
PAL stands for Physical Activity Leader training.
Continuing today, the Mississippi Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) has been meeting on campus.
Thursday, MAHPERD held Let’s Move! Active Schools: Physical Activity Leader (or PAL) training on campus.
The PAL training was sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools and the Mississippi Department of Health’s Office of Preventive Health. MAHPERD offered free continuing education units (CEUs) for teachers.
“It’s been great! Wonderful facilities, so accommodating,” enthused MAHPERD Executive Director Brandi Pickett on Thursday about JSU as a host site for the training.
“The staff has been so accommodating, so helpful!” added MAHPERD outgoing President Mary Ann Simpkins. It is not the first time that MAHPERD has held training at JSU, but it has been a long time, she said.
About 80 people attended the daylong training Thursday at the T.B. Ellis Gymnasium on Dalton Street. The focus was on physical education training for coaches, educators, “anybody who works with kids,” said Pickett.
Today, MAHPERD will hold its 2014 convention on campus. Between 120-150 people are expected, said Simpkins. Lectures and activities start at 8 a.m. in Ballrooms A and B at the Student Center.
The organization is composed of Mississippi educators, administrators, coaches, and professionals involved in all aspects of health, physical education, recreation, and dance, said Pickett. It serves as an advocate for quality programs that encourage healthy, physically active lifestyles.
The featured speaker today is Jenny Dearden of Moorhead State University in Kentucky, who is the president-elect of Southern District of SHAPE America. MAHPERD is an affiliate of SHAPE America.
Her topic will be “motivation” to fit the conference’s theme, Champions of Health and Wellness, said Pickett.
Those interested in joining MAHPERD can do so during the conference and attend as members, Pickett said.
A Friday evening highlight will be the swearing-in of a new president, Matt Dalrymple, who works with the Mississippi Department of Education, said Simpkins.
“We are excited to host Champions of Health and Wellness at Jackson State University,” said Tamika Bradley, chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, hosting the event.
For more information about MAHPERD and the convention, see: https://www.msahperd.com
