Students at Silver Lake Elementary School in Middletown got their hearts racing and muscles pumping Feb. 2.
Mark Rothstein of Atlanta, Ga. brought his “World of Rope Jumping” program to the school with the purpose to teach the children about fitness, character building and, of course, rope jumping.
Rothstein is a two-time Guinness World Record holder, having jumped rope for more than 36 continuous hours in 1989.
For 25 years, he has visited schools around the country to deliver positive messages about polite manners, honesty, respect and teamwork in a fun, active way.
“Rope jumping is something that everybody is aware of and everybody can do,” he said. “It’s as good of exercise as any and a great way to promote it.”
This is Rothstein’s second visit to SLE. The all-day event began with a school assembly involving all grade levels, in which Rothstein performed some rope jumping routines and interactive skits. For the rest of the day, each grade level participated in their own workshops to learn the moves and partake in a fun fitness routine.
Rothstein said he enjoys being a role model for young children and teaching them positive behaviors and habits.
“A big part of what I feel my responsibility is, is to inspire and motivate the kids,” he said. “I do that by leading by example.”
Rothstein, who has performed 9,000 shows so far, said he believes the program has been effective.
“As many positive influences kids can get, the more the better,” he said.
Second-grade students who took part in a workshop watched, eyes glued, as Rothstein took them through a variety of rope jumping techniques, such as super sonic jumping, tornado jumping and mystery jumping. The students also did stretching, pushups and dance moves.
Second-grader Grace Vallely said she really enjoyed the workshop because it was interactive and got her moving.
“It was really fun,” she said. “We got tired and got to workout.”
Student Ricky Meinhold said he has always enjoyed exercising and wants to jump rope more often now.
“It makes you tired, and the more tired you are the more energy builds up,” he said.
Rothstein said the students at SLE impressed him, both in skill and behavior.
“The discipline was superb,” he said. “They are very disciplined, very hard working and really polite.”
Eric Trzcinski, physical education teacher at SLE, said Rothstein’s visit kicks off “Jump Rope for Heart,” a program Trzcinski holds every year to fight heart disease and strokes.
“The students here are continuously talking about all the tricks he did on stage,” he said. “His underlying message of eating well, staying drug free and keeping your heart healthy and strong coincides with my main message everyday with these students.”
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Students at Silver Lake Elementary School in Middletown got their hearts racing and muscles pumping Feb. 2.
Mark Rothstein of Atlanta, Ga. brought his “World of Rope Jumping” program to the school with the purpose to teach the children about fitness, character building and, of course, rope jumping.
Rothstein is a two-time Guinness World Record holder, having jumped rope for more than 36 continuous hours in 1989.
For 25 years, he has visited schools around the country to deliver positive messages about polite manners, honesty, respect and teamwork in a fun, active way.
“Rope jumping is something that everybody is aware of and everybody can do,” he said. “It’s as good of exercise as any and a great way to promote it.”
This is Rothstein’s second visit to SLE. The all-day event began with a school assembly involving all grade levels, in which Rothstein performed some rope jumping routines and interactive skits. For the rest of the day, each grade level participated in their own workshops to learn the moves and partake in a fun fitness routine.
Rothstein said he enjoys being a role model for young children and teaching them positive behaviors and habits.
“A big part of what I feel my responsibility is, is to inspire and motivate the kids,” he said. “I do that by leading by example.”
Rothstein, who has performed 9,000 shows so far, said he believes the program has been effective.
“As many positive influences kids can get, the more the better,” he said.
Second-grade students who took part in a workshop watched, eyes glued, as Rothstein took them through a variety of rope jumping techniques, such as super sonic jumping, tornado jumping and mystery jumping. The students also did stretching, pushups and dance moves.
Second-grader Grace Vallely said she really enjoyed the workshop because it was interactive and got her moving.
“It was really fun,” she said. “We got tired and got to workout.”
Student Ricky Meinhold said he has always enjoyed exercising and wants to jump rope more often now.
“It makes you tired, and the more tired you are the more energy builds up,” he said.
Rothstein said the students at SLE impressed him, both in skill and behavior.
“The discipline was superb,” he said. “They are very disciplined, very hard working and really polite.”
Eric Trzcinski, physical education teacher at SLE, said Rothstein’s visit kicks off “Jump Rope for Heart,” a program Trzcinski holds every year to fight heart disease and strokes.
“The students here are continuously talking about all the tricks he did on stage,” he said. “His underlying message of eating well, staying drug free and keeping your heart healthy and strong coincides with my main message everyday with these students.”
