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WATERLOO — The gym at Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence is full of activity, even though students went home hours ago.Some of the children have returned, accompanied by a parent or grandparent. And all of them — kids and adults — are exercising as music blares from a nearby stereo.The 21 people at Cunningham Thursday evening raised their heart rates for about an hour in a cardiovascular workout led by a fitness instructor from the YMCA. It’s all part of Hal’s Pals, a family exercise program that happens Tuesday and Thursday evenings. It also takes place across town at Irving Elementary School.Hal’s Pals has been operating during the school year since January 2006, when it began as a collaboration between community agencies with the help of federal grant funds. Hal is a mascot created by the Youth Fitness & Obesity Institute at the University of Northern Iowa.