“This is the Healthy Family Makeover contest,” said Carol Ferguson, a spokeswoman for the school. “By promoting health outside to the families, we hope to change the behavior of young people.”

Ferguson said personal training for the families, which will be provided by Mainland Fitness, is worth about $6,000 each. “When you add the others – cooking and nutritionists – it probably reaches close to $10,000 per family.”

Another big part of the program, she said, is a family scrapbook that documents life-changing behavior that contributes to a healthier lifestyle. Samantha Kiley Ficcaglia, coordinator for AtlantiCare’s Child Health and Wellness program, said every school and culture is different, but that the scrapbook could cut across any boundaries”It’s a visual-organizing tool,” Ficcaglia said. “It helps people see what constitutes a healthy lifestyle.”

Ficcaglia is developing the scrapbook that will be used at the NCS pilot program. But every family in NCS who chooses to participate in the Healthy Schools Initiative will be able to use the scrapbook.

“Schools can only do so much to help children get healthier,” Ficcaglia said. “Some must come from the families.”

By keeping track of things such as grocery purchases and meal planning, families can gradually move toward a healthier lifestyle, she said.

“This is also a way to take the Healthy Schools Initiative through the summer,” she said, “when the children are out of school.”

Ferguson calls the scrapbook the play-at-home version for those families that can’t take part in the Healthy Family Makeover.

Five families with children at NCS will be chosen later this month to take part in the makeover.

“If families want to participate, we will ask the family or a student from the family to write an essay describing themselves and their general health,” Ferguson said. “They would submit it to me at NCS and we will use that to screen it to 15 families.”

After the screening, five families will be selected and announced Dec. 18, Ferguson said.

The program will begin Jan. 2. At the end of 12 weeks, the family that best changed its lifestyle will be selected as the winner of the makeover contest. Ferguson said the winning family would be announced in April.

For more information, visit the Web site:

northfield.groupfusion.net/

This is the first in an occasional series about families getting fit at Northfield Community School.

To e-mail Dave Benson at The Press: DBenson@pressofac.com