Henderson Bay gym classes take place just off campus

High school partners with Boys & Girls Club for physical education

Nate Hulings

of the Gateway

Olivia Vignati has been a student at Henderson Bay High School for the past four years. Until a year ago, she could only describe gym classes in one way.

“It would get boring,” she said.

Students would have to choose between a small variety of options that included yoga in a classroom, a single basketball hoop or walking around Gig Harbor High School’s upper playfield.

They don’t have to settle for those options anymore.

Since the Gig Harbor branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound opened last fall, Henderson Bay students have been using the facilities for free. Open for their use is a full-size basketball court, sports equipment, and ping-pong and air hockey tables.

Yoga is still available, but now it’s held in a performing arts studio rather than a classroom.

Getting the Henderson Bay students into a facility that could provide more physical fitness opportunities was a win-win for both the school district and the Boys & Girls Club at the HOPE Center, branch director Jo Ann Maxwell said.

“It was just a perfect match,” she said. “It made sense.”

Students already rely on the facilities for before- and after-school activities, so having them utilize the space during the day is just a continuation of that relationship, Maxwell said.

“Having kids in our building — that’s what we’re all about,” she said. “We just think it’s great having them here.”

Vignati said she knows the importance of getting out of the classroom and away from books and lectures to burn off some energy.

“It’s just really nice to stay out and get active,” she said.

A gym that would sit virtually empty during the day is now flooded with Henderson Bay students who shoot hoops and hit tennis balls, among other activities.

For Caleb McDaniels, a senior at Henderson Bay, the move to the Boys & Girls Club meant no more walks in the rain. He often plays air hockey and claims to be undefeated, a title his classmates won’t challenge.

Another student who has seen her gym class change from classroom yoga to a state-of-the-art facility is Karissa Mallet. She’s been at Henderson Bay for more than two years and said the P.E. program has come a long way.

Mallet has taken up ping-pong and said the sport has even helped her think more analytically.

Gym classes also have helped Vignati kindle old memories of recess in elementary school. Since Henderson Bay moved into its new digs, she said she recently played foursquare for the first time in years.

“I missed it,” Vignati said. “Just running around.”