Local schools won big in the GOGA challenge. With the goal of promoting a healthy lifestyle through recreation, nutrition and physical fitness activities, Get Out Get Active (GOGA) is a competitive program offered annually throughout Charleston County Schools as part of the National Alliance For Youth Sports.

GOGA was created to help combat the youth obesity epidemic plaguing our nation. In 2006, the Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission partnered with the National Alliance For Youth Sports and Charleston County Schools to launch the GOGA Fitness Challenge, encouraging Charleston County youth and families to take advantage of -- and become involved in -- a wide range of activities.

The GOGA fitness challenge is actively encouraged throughout Charleston County's elementary schools as well as its Kaleidoscope after-school programs. Participating students watch a video featuring a variety of fun and fitness activities occurring within Charleston County Parks and other locations, and then track their own activities on a chart. The chart is a key aspect to the fitness challenge, implemented by physical educators for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The goal is to achieve a minimal level of physical activity each week from a list of fun and fitness activities. Students may pick activities from the chart to participate in and, if an activity is not listed, use "other" with the approval of a physical educator.

At the end of the semester, each student returns their personal activity chart listing the activities they participated in, checked and verified by a parent, guardian, teacher, coach or other adult in their life. The school with the greatest percentage of charts returned then qualifies for the GOGA fitness challenge school recognition program. Winners are recognized within the elementary school division as well as the after-school division.

The program will continue in the fall. The top three schools in the 2009-2010 GOGA fitness challenge in each category are as follow:

After-school division 2009-2010 GOGA winners:

1. Drayton Hall Elementary Kaleidoscope - 100 percent participation (104 students)

2. James B. Edwards Elementary Kaleidoscope - 100 percent participation (102 students)

3. Ladson Elementary Kaleidoscope - 100 percent participation (35 students)

Elementary School Division 2009-2010 GOGA Winners

1. A.C. Corcoran Elementary School - 100 percent participation (600 students) (pictured at right)

2. Chicora Elementary School - 100 percent participation (365 students)

3. Mount Pleasant Academy - 100 percent participation (428 students)

For more information on the Charleston County Get Out Get Active program, visit the Charleston County Community Education website at www.charlestoncoce.org.

Benjamin Filippo graduates from Tufts University

More than 3,000 students graduated from Tufts University on May 23, during the university-wide commencement ceremony with Tufts University's legendary professor and former provost Sol Gittleman as the speaker.

Benjamin Filippo of Mount Pleasant graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history.

Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions.