Queens Tribune
 
....September 4, 3:34 PM
 
Kids Ready For School With Some Wii Help

Queens Center Mall and Gamestop staged the Wii Olympics at the mall.

By Emilie Schneider

As students buy marble notebooks and three-ring binders, and sharpen pencils in preparation for the new school year, others are sharpening their Wii skills to get their energy up for classes.

To jumpstart the school year and revive school spirit, the Queens Center Mall and Gamestop hosted the Wii Olympics Aug. 29.

Swimming, table tennis and track and field were set-up at stations in the mall, with the Wiis donated by Gamestop. Students received a free Queens Center backpack to help them with the back to school season.

“It’s not based on competition it is just for them to have fun, get fit so that they can start school healthy and in the right mindset and take on those studies,” Queens Center spokeswoman Dawn Simon said.

Having fun before school starts was the event’s main appeal for 12-year-old Samantha Redman of Jamaica.

“Wii is fun,” she said, adding that she is ready to go back to school and begin the seventh grade.

Still wanting to hold on to the carefree summer days was Avital Kohananoo, 11, of Rego Park, who placed fourth in the 400-meter swim event.

“Back to school is really a time where it’s bittersweet,” Simon said. “Summer is ending; parents have to get back into the mindset of getting into homework and a whole new system again.”
Nine Charged In $1.4M Mortgage Scheme

Inside The Board Of Elections: State Senate Votes Prompt Race Debate

MTA Changes Expected

Councilman Stable After Car Accident

Queens Weathers Economic Storm

Hospital Welcomes ‘Miracle Babies’ Home

Queens Law College Ranks In Diversity

Queens Arm Wrestlers Take Home Top Prizes

Second Attempt For Greener Taxis

Triborough Bridge Now The RFK

Opponents Flip On Willets Point Plan

Recount Get Underway In Tight Senate Race

Return To Jail Likely For Con Freed In Hoax

City Officials File Suit Over Term Limits

Audit Finds Water’s Edge In Too Deep

Celebs Cut Ribbon On New Garden

Liu Fixing Broken Meter Rule

New Test For 8th Graders Unveiled

Parkway Hospital Closes

City Closes Corona Dental Clinic

Dissident Dems Weigh Options

Bloomberg To Charge For Plastic Bags

Smith Discusses Changes In Senate