Retired Oak Park Teacher Named to State Health and Fitness Council

Sandy Noel was making her mark on getting physical long before Olivia Newton-John’s song became popular in the 1980s.

A physical education and fitness instructor for more than 35 years, Noel has always encouraged youngsters to become more active and eat better so they can lead healthier lives.

Now, the 63-year-old Oak Park resident will be advocating for these values statewide. Earlier this month the retiredteacher was tapped to serve as the co-chair of a council formed by Gov. Pat Quinn geared at developing practical ideas for maintaining good health.

“I’ve been working toward something like this, to be a part of a group that is committed and involved and can make a difference….We have to work out how we can bring in everyone together to work for the same goal of having healthy people in every community,” she said.

The Governor’s Council on Health and Fitness will be co-chaired by former Chicago Bears great Otis Wilson.

Noel, who has won a number of awards for her teaching, including a Golden Apple Award in 2006, will be working on behalf of children and also for adults.

As planning for the council gets underway, Noel has some issues she’d like o bring to the table, like pushing lawmakers and school districts to ensure physical education remains a vital part of the school day.

Currently, state law requires P.E. courses everyday. But schools can apply for waivers to that rule for any number of reasons. Most common, state education officials said, is because a school lacks proper facilities

Noel is urging teachers in schools without daily P.E. classes to get creative by leading physical, fun activities in the classroom, sort of like an indoor recess.

For the state’s public and private workforce, Noel wants the council to urge business groups to promote physical activity and good nutrition.

“Physical activity does improve overall well-being. People are more productive at work when they are physically fit. People show up when they’re healthy; they’re not taking as many sick days. The health care system is not taxed because employees do not have debilitating diseases,” she said.

To get both children and adults involved, Noel hopes the council will promote the “Walk Across Illinois Challenge.” The program, announced earlier this month, encourages residents this year to walk 167 miles this year, roughly the distance across Illinois from Rock Island to Chicago.

It’s similar to Walk Across Illinois, a program which had been enacted in elementary schools throughout the state during the last decade in which students logged their miles walked in a given day and later converted those into points. Along the way, they learned history lessons from places across Illinois.

In the end they received certificates from then-Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, congratulating them on their accomplishments.

Whether it’s through the elementary school version of “Walk” or the newer one involving adults, kids can be role models to their parents and vice-versa.

Two of Noel’s former students, Haley Martens and Joanna Greenberg, both 11-year-old sixth graders at , did “Walk Across Illinois” in fourth grade at .

“I learned about different things in the state and especially about Springfield and Abraham Lincoln,” said Haley, who plays soccer, loves to ice skate and plans to make physical activity a part of her life.

Joanna liked the games, especially the variations of tag the students played, and the different things about the state, “like the state snack (popcorn), the state bird (the cardinal) and the state fossil (the Tully Monster, housed in the Field Museum of Natural History),” she said. “Learning is supposed to be fun isn’t it?”