Students jump, shoot for heart research

Students at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School are jumping and shooting this week in an effort to raise funds for the American Heart Association.

During physical education classes, students are taking part in the annual Hoops for Hearts fundraiser for the association, shooting basketballs through the hoops and jumping rope in effort to meet a goal for baskets and successful rope jumps. Meeting those goals will allow the students to collect pledges they have secured beforehand.

Physical Education Teacher Diane Conover said the annual fund drive and effort is important not only because heart disease is the number one killer in America, but because it promotes physical activity among younger children at a time when 16 percent of all children and teenagers are overweight.