Click...learn...then move! 

Most important video you'll watch all day! Wanna think? MOVE!!!...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqceJv4iNv4

An EXERCISE rap? Oh ya! ...  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5kuaU5kxQ

For an awesome article every day on the exercise effect on your body, follow John Ratey, MD on Facebook.

Your brain with exercise and without exercise. Get moving! 

What an honor it was when Executive Director Dr. Sally Sover and the entire Cove community welcomed Dr. John Ratey and Mr. Paul Zientarski to speak to our parents, teachers and members of the greater community. The presentation New Brain Research: How Movement and Exercise Spark Student Learning focused on the need to incorporate movement and exercise to optimize learning, reduce stress and provide lifelong health benefits. Students across the nation are experiencing higher levels of anxiety, depression and ADHD, yet regular exercise can help reduce the symptoms of these disorders and maximize student learning. Dr. Ratey’s and Mr. Zientarski’s efforts in this field have inspired Cove’s work for many years, where the SPARK curriculum is an integral part of our PE program. Moreover, our teachers have been provided with strategies to incorporate movement breaks throughout the day. This presentation was especially meaningful and relevant for The Cove School.  

Dr. Ratey and Mr. Zientarski spoke to a large group of parents from the community on Thursday night, January 17, followed by a presentation on Friday, January 18, for The Cove School staff. This event was open to community education professionals. All attendees were inspired by the  presentation and eager to implement the ideas into their classrooms and personal lives. 

Dr. John Ratey, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, is an internationally recognized expert in Neuropsychiatry and one of the world's foremost authorities on the brain-fitness connection. His best-selling book, "Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain," was the focal point of the presentation. With the publication of "Spark," Dr. Ratey has embarked on a worldwide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health.  He certainly inspired us at Cove to get ourselves and our students up and moving to maximize success, improve mood and bolster brain development. 

Dr. Ratey explained the science behind why exercise helps optimize brain functioning. Brain Growth Factor (BDNF) a brain chemical he described as “Miracle Grow” for the brain, acts as an antidepressant, reduces stress and supports intelligence and memory. Dr. Ratey explained that exercise increases the production of BDNF, allowing our brains to make more neural connections.   Dr. Ratey and other psychiatrists explain that the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex, both of which play a role in dancing, are rewired and consequently improved with frequent use.  Therefore, having dance be a part of the elementary and junior high specials classes at Cove is advancing and strengthening their brains. Dr. Ratey told us that with regular exercise, children and adults of all ages can grow their brain’s volume, which improves the ability to learn, focus and experience less anxiety and depression.  

Dr. Ratey was joined in the presentation by Paul Zientarski, who created the Learning Readiness PE Program that was featured in the book “Spark”. He is a worldwide educational consultant and was appointed to the Illinois Stakeholder and Expert Task Force for Physical Education.