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QC09152016

editorial 30 THE QUEENS COURIER • SEPTEMBER 15, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SNAPS QUEENS FRIENDLY SQUIRREL // PHOTO BY RON TORINA Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps). City school kids need to get moving again There seems to be one word to describe 21st-century life in America: sedentary — as in lacking in regular movement. The average American adult now goes to work sitting in a car, train or bus; sits in an offi ce chair typing on a computer; sits some more on the ride home; sits down at the dinner table; and then, after a long day of sitting, plops down on the couch to watch television or play video games. This sedentary lifestyle is now being passed down to the children of America. Kids no longer rule the streets or playgrounds of a community after school or on weekends. They’re inside playing games on the computer, watching television or chatting with friends on the cellphone. For many of these youngsters, the only chance they get at exercise happens in school. However, a report that Queens City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley released last week shows that fewer public schoolchildren in New York City are getting the proper amount of physical education. There are myriad reasons for this, chief among them a lack of available recreational space on campus that have been expanded or remodeled to accommodate soaring student populations. Many schools do not have a full-time physical education teacher, and some don’t even have an indoor gym, according to a 2015 report from City Comptroller Scott Stringer. New York State requires that elementary schoolchildren receive no fewer than 120 minutes per week of physical education under the direction of a certifi ed phys ed teacher. New York City’s Department of Education fails to meet this mandate, and not only is it breaking the law, it is also endangering the long-term health of our children. The Centers for Disease Control reports that childhood obesity doubled over the last 30 years among young children, and more than a third of them are classifi ed as being overweight or obese. This puts them at a risk of all kinds of health problems from diabetes to heart disease. Instilling a healthy, active lifestyle in kids at an early age is so important toward transforming healthy children into healthy adults. The city must reinvest in physical education programs by hiring certifi ed teachers and building more recreational spaces on campus. For years, the city tried to legislate the sugar and salt intakes of New Yorkers while failing to properly look out for the health and safety of our children. We hope the de Blasio administration wakes up and realizes that if we’re going to build a healthier New York, we’ve got to start by tending the sprouts. THE QUEENS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS STAFF REPORTERS DIGITAL EDITOR CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA SUZANNE MONTEVERDI KATARINA HYBENOVA CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: editorial@qns.com for advertising e-mail: ads@qns.com Entire Contents Copyright 2016 by The Queens Courier All letters sent to THE QUEENS COURIER should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, AS WELL AS OP-ED PIECES IN NO WAY REFLECT THE PAPER’S POSITION. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE QUEENS COURIER. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE QUEENS COURIER within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. Schneps Communications assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE QUEENS COURIER and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. identify this PLACE Photo: Katrina Medoff/QNS


QC09152016
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