This fall, as part of our Physical Education Program, our students had the opportunity to go for a hike in beautiful Gatineau Park.This special field trip was part of Take Me Outside Day,

A day that began as cloudy and rainy quickly turned to a day filled with smiles, laughter, sweat, great stories and a sense of peace for our students. It was so great to see moms at school early, even on a rainy, muddy day, ready to travel to the park to take on this fitness challenge!

It was a wonderful chance to introduce Youville’s young moms to Gatineau Park and to an activity that they could continue throughout their lives with their children. It was also a leadership activity, as our young moms pushed past their comfort zones and proved to themselves that they could try a new activity. They set a goal to complete the hike and they achieved it!

Our Physical Education program focuses on the mind body connection, specifically how exercise and benefit academic focus and performance. Not only does an activity like a hike help keep our students active, it also helps with mental and emotional wellness, improves academic focus and concentration and improves the brain’s potential for processing new information. The science behind our Physical Education Program is inspired greatly by John Ratey’s book, Spark, which “presents the pairing of fitness activities to academics to affix learning”(Ratey).