MOUNTAIN LAKES -- Gym class is not an afterthought at The Wilson School.

Physical education is a key component of the curriculum at this ecumenical private school with an enrollment of 71 children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

The school has been so successful in getting its kids to be physically active that it has won six consecutive small school state championships in The President's Challenge, the nationwide program in which school children are tested on their physical fitness.

Often awarded

Wilson won the state championships by being the top school of its size in terms of the percentage of students who won the Presidential Physical Fitness Award, the prestigious honor that goes to children of kindergarten-age and higher who finish among the top 15 percent of students in all five sections of the presidential physical fitness test.

This academic year, a total of 24 of the Wilson School's 68 students in kindergarten through eighth grade won the Presidential Physical Fitness Award. That amounts to 35.2 percent of the kids who took the test. The Wilson School's physical education teacher, Bruce Rhinesmith, said the school will find out in October if that 35.2 percent was good enough to win a seventh consecutive state championship in Category I, one of three categories of school that are recognized by The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport, the body that oversees The President's Challenge. Category I is for schools that have fewer than 200 students.

Rhinesmith said The Wilson School's past success on The President's Challenge has helped inspire its current students to achieve similar results.

"I think they're highly motivated" said Rhinesmith, 50, an energetic Allamuchy resident who has been The Wilson School's physical education teacher for 12 years.

"A winning tradition breeds that," Rhinesmith added.

School administrators, including Head of School Carolyn Borlo, also credit Rhinesmith for using his enthusiasm and creativity to inspire his students to be active.

"The kids absolutely love him" Borlo said. "He's so encouraging."

Rhinesmith said he tries to keep his students motivated by teaching classes that feature a combination of traditional games like soccer, volleyball and softball with new games that Rhinesmith has created on his own. Those creations include themed obstacle courses inspired by books the children are reading and other games that are connected to aspects of the school's curriculum.

"We try to work with the classroom teachers on things," Rhinesmith said

Students at the Wilson School take 40-minute physical education classes twice a week. They also take a 40-minute swimming class once a week.

A variety of after-school programs are also available, including sports clinics and team competitions.

Special opportunities

For most students, tuition at The Wilson School, which was founded in 1909 by Episcopal Rev. Henry B. Wilson and his Quaker wife, Theresa, runs between $14,000 and $18,000 a year, depending on a student's grade level. However, seven of the school's students this year are children from Newark who are attending Wilson for free as part of a program that Wilson began offering last fall.

One of those children, second-grader Nina Brillantes, was one of the 24 students who won the Presidential Physical Fitness Award this year. She said she really enjoys running because "it's fun."

"I like being outdoors and I like moving and I like putting my right leg there and my left leg here," said eight-year-old Nina as she demonstrated her running style.

Michael Scholl may be reached at (973) 428-6644 or mscholl@gannett.com