By Karen Gutierrez
The Cincinnati Enquirer

UNION - Students at New Haven Elementary School will no longer be selling candy, wrapping paper and knickknacks to raise money.

Why? Because the annual catalog sale - a ubiquitous fund-raising event at public schools - is not as healthy as a walkathon.

So says the New Haven PTA, which decided to switch fund-raising events next year as part of a schoolwide commitment to fitness.

"A lot of us felt, if we're encouraging physical fitness, it's now a conflict of interest if we say, 'Go sell candy in the catalog, but we'd prefer you not eat too much of it,'" PTA President Ellen Pullen says.

Besides, most people buy from the catalog because they want to support the school, not because they really need another box of chocolates, bug magnet or peach-scented candle, parents say.

The catalog sale, called QSP Reader's Digest, raises about $25,000 each year, which the PTA uses for books, computer software, field trips and the like. Dropping it comes with some risk, but members are hopeful people will be just as happy to buy exercise for kids.

"It's our responsibility to teach these children not just math, science and English but lifestyles that will stick with them for the rest of their lives," says parent Claudine Andrews, a member of the school's site-based council.

To that end, New Haven last week sponsored a family health night, in which children sampled fresh fruits and vegetables, learned safe stretching techniques and used a special liquid to see how many germs were on their hands.

Some teachers already have embraced the link between mental alertness and exercise.

"When I see I've lost them, we'll get up and do 10 jumping jacks or we'll jump in place," teacher Dawn Padgett says.

E-mail kgutierrez@enquirer.com