Cape Elizabeth students in fifth through eighth grade are now getting homework for gym class.

As part of a new program introduced the first week of December, students are required to participate in physical activity three times per week outside of gym class.

The seventh- and eighth-graders who received laptops through the laptop initiative are required to record their activities on a Web site developed for the project. Fifth- and sixth-graders are allowed to record their activities on paper if they can’t access a computer.

The program targets five areas of fitness: upper body strength, core strength, leg strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance. Students are expected to exercise each skill three times per week. Andy Strout, the physical education teacher and program developer, said the program gives the kids “a little push to stay active all winter long.”

Another incentive to do their homework is the testing at the close of the trimester, which measures their progress. “At the end of the program, you should be able to do better,” Strout told a sixth-grade gym class Monday before testing them for the President’s Challenge Fitness Contest. Cape Elizabeth has come in first in Maine for the past seven years, said Strout.

The kids were time tested on how many sit-ups they could do in a minute. They will be tested again at the close of the semester to measure their progress. Some kids reveled in the competition, while others appeared less enthusiastic about it.

However, they were curious to compare themselves nationally to their peers. Maggie Rabasca, 11, placed in the 85th percentile in her age. Rabasca, an already active student takes horseback riding one hour a week, and walks home from the bus stop. Both activities count towards her homework.

Though she is already quite active, she said she still spends an additional hour per week completing her gym homework. “It’s kind of time-consuming,” she said.

She also said she prefers to record her activities on the Web site. As a child of the Internet age, she finds it easier.

The Web site is not only a tool for recording activities but also a fitness resource. It includes fitness related links, explanations of muscles, and a link to Cape Elizabeth Land Trust Trails.

Strout said he hopes this will encourage families to exercise with their children as well as monitor their children’s activities.

Tori Brigham (right) discovers that she’s ranked in the fiftieth percentile of 11 year-olds nationally for number of sit-ups completed in one minute. Kelsey Allen also 11 completed 42 sit-ups, which placed her in the 85th percentile.Sixth-grader Curtis Ott holds Brian Brett’s feet while Brett completes as many sit-ups as he can in the one minute allotted him for the President’s Challenge Fitness Contest.