HOUSTON – Dec. 3, 2015 – Guadalupe Gonzales, a fifth grader at Cooper Elementary School, earned special recognition from the Houston Texans recently for simply keeping track of how much time she spent being active – 6,395 minutes to be exact.

Over Thanksgiving break, Gonzales was invited onto the field at the Houston Texans vs. the New Orleans Saints game where she was recognized along with nine other students in the state for being the top ten state winners in the Play 60 Challenge sponsored by the Houston Texans and the American Heart Association.

Gonzales wasn’t the only winner in the Play 60 Challenge at Cooper. Her school placed seventh in the nation and third in the state based on the number of active minutes also recorded by her school mates.

“It’s all about movement and recording the minutes they spent doing activities,” said Detrick Jones, Cooper Elementary coach and physical education teacher. “Every fourth and fifth grader had the opportunity to participate in the four-week challenge, and most did a very good job recording their minutes.”

Minutes were based on time spent walking to and from school, recess, PE, extracurricular activities – like dance, soccer and cheerleading – and even chores at home.

Jones said he is always looking for engaging programs that promote healthy physical activity. “It gets us involved in the community and lets them know that we are a health-conscious school,” he said.