Three Cheers For Newtown

By Tanjua Damon

R-O-W-D-Y. That’s the way you spell “rowdy.” Let’s get rowdy!

This is one of the cheers that could be heard from the young girls participating in the KidsFit Summer Camp Three Cheers for Newtown. The girls, ages four to ten, learned about being healthy as well as what it is like to be a cheerleader during the week-long program.

Shayla Quinn as well as Newtown High School cheerleaders Jaime Huppental and Whitney Cross offered the camp and showed the girls cheers and gymnastic tricks that are useful as a cheerleader. They also spoke to them about ways to be healthy by eating good foods and exercising.

“I’m not saying don’t eat those things [junk food], just eat them once in a while,” Ms Quinn said. “If you exercise and eat right you are going to have a healthy body. Cheerleaders need to be in real physical shape, eat right and have good grades.”

The cheerleaders spoke to the girls about teamwork, dedication, and spirit, all of which are valuable traits for a cheerleader.

“Teamwork is when we all work together,” Whitney said. “We will always help each other out, even outside of cheerleading.”

Jaime told the young girls that determination is an important characteristic is all aspects of life.

“Determination is when you stick to whatever you’re doing,” she said. “You keep trying and trying. If you’re not determined you’ll look at the cheer once and say I can’t do it. Determination is when you really want to do it.”

The two cheerleaders also told the girls that spirit is a good thing to have when you want to get people involved and to have a good attitude.

Both Newtown High School students hope that the young girls see the importance of being healthy and getting involved.

 “I think it’s important to teach the young girls what cheerleading is all about so they know what it’s all about,” Jaime said. “Not just what they see about cheerleaders on TV.”

Whitney wants the girls to know that cheerleading has evolved into an athletic sport that takes teamwork and determination.

“Cheerleading is becoming really big and popular. It’s not only about dressing up and looking cute,” Whitney said. “It’s athletic and competitive. We hope they have fun and they want to do it in the future.”

All of the girls were full of energy and smiling as they learned the cheers and gymnastics moves. When the cheerleaders said “hands on hips,” the girls replied, “Smiles on lips.”

“I like to roll on the balance beam,” Meghan Loose said. “I like cheerleading.”

Learning the cheers was challenging for some of the girls.

“Sometimes learning the cheers [is hard],” Rosie said. “Sometimes you can’t understand the movements.”

Christie Iorfino liked the camp so much she returned for a second year.

“I went here last time and I liked it,” Christie said. “I like everything.”

Being able to perform in front of people is what brought some of the campers to Three Cheers for Newtown.

“When we have to do cartwheels, I don’t really land right,” Casey-Rose Kearns said. “[I came] because I thought it would be really fun to do it in front of a lot of people.”

There are more KidsFit Camps being offered this summer including Olympics in Newtown, Circus Week, Space Camp, Three Cheers for Newtown, and Broadway Hits. For more information contact Newtown Parks and Recreation at 270-4340.