The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Harrison students in the swim thanks to principal's initiative By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer The classrooms at Harrison Public School in Georgetown have been empty on most Wednesday afternoons this year as part of a new initiative to promote healthy, active living. Students in the Kindergarten to Grade 5 school can choose one of five activities in three separate nine-week sessions in a unique partnership with the Town of Halton Hills and other community organizations. Skating, swimming, basketball, dance and martial arts instruction are provided for the students for a cost of $60 for the three sessions, with government support and fundraising through the school's council helping to offset the cost of registration. 19 Independent & Free Press, Thursday, January 28, 2010 Harrison Public School principal Anna Drummond stopped by the Gellert Recreation Centre yesterday (Wednesday) to see how her Grade 3 students were coming along with their swimming lessons. Drummond has undertaken a healthy living program at the school that allows all students to participate in a number of physical activities once a week at a nominal cost over a 27-week span. Photo by Eamonn Maher Fifth-year Harrison principal Anna Drummond came up with the idea to help meet the Quality Daily Fitness mandate of 20 minutes of physical activity per day. "Living in Ontario in particular, Canadian children need to learn how to swim and skate because we're surrounded by water and it's usually a long, cold winter," said Drummond. "It really has been neat. Some of the children who don't shine in class have really shone here and it's important for their teachers to see that too." Drummond hopes that other schools in Halton Hills will embrace the program and take advantage of facilities that aren't being utilized during the day. She added that while initially organizing the program was difficult, the students and their parents are pleased with the results. "Everything has fallen into place."