Lower Creek Elementary School wins the 2008-09 National and State Championship for the President's Challenge Physical Fitness and Sports Award, yet again. Not often does an elementary school tout a National Championship title, but Lower Creek Elementary now has earned 12 statewide championships and holds a second National title. The 2008-2009 recognition ranks the school as the most physically fit student body in North Carolina for enrollment of 200 to 500 students based on the highest percentage of students successfully passing the President's Physical Fitness Challenge.

With approximately 360 students enrolled in grades K-5, 89.98 percent met the Presidential Fitness Challenge requirement, a score that topped all the competition in the state and national ranking and surpassed the school's previous rate of 88.71 percent, when Lower Creek also won the state championship and placed second in the nation.

"We've experienced the excitement of being number one in the state for over a decade, but it is still rewarding and exciting to hear the news every single time," said Kathy Terrell, PE teacher. "And to be number one in the nation--a second time--is the ultimate. This is a huge honor, and I attribute our continued success to the dedication and support from our students, faculty, staff and administration." 

The award is presented to an elementary school in North Carolina with the greatest percentage of students passing five areas of fitness criteria in the President's Physical Fitness Test: pull-ups, sit-ups, shuttle run, mile run and the sit-and-reach. For individual students to qualify for the presidential award, a student must score 85 percent or higher on each event.

An elementary school in the Caldwell County School System has held the North Carolina Championship title of the President's Challenge Physical Fitness and Sports Award for the past 15 years. Davenport A+ won the state award in 2003-2004; Valmead Elementary championed the event in 2004-05 and 2005-06. The most recent results mark the twelfth year that Lower Creek Elementary School has been recognized with this distinction. Lower Creek Elementary also placed number one in the state and number one in the nation in 2006-2007.

"We are thrilled that one of our elementary schools in Caldwell County has received national and statewide acclaim," said Superintendent Dr. Steve Stone. "Lower Creek Elementary, like so many of our other schools, promotes and practices the importance and relevance of physical fitness for our young people What an outstanding honor this is for Lower Creek Elementary. We are very proud of their continued success and highest recognition in physical fitness, considering that more than 40 million students participate annually in the Presidential Fitness Challenge."

"We're already working on next year," said Kathy Terrill. "For example, today I had a student who beat the school's record in the shuttle run (a distance of 30 feet), who ran it in 9.2 seconds. A few minutes later, another student in the same class, broke his record and ran it in 9.1 seconds. This is a reflection of the continuous, healthy competition among our student body. For the students, it's fun and that's key to its success, but the larger benefit is that students are developing an early focus on daily physical fitness."

"Now it is an expectation as well as a goal within our school," said Lower Creek Elementary Principal Debbie Indicott. "We strongly encourage physical activity as it enhances the level of enthusiasm in students for academics, attendance and attitudes. Winning the national or state championship is an added bonus!"