In a Florida school district that didn’t provide health classes in high schools, a health educator, Risa Berrin, and her sister, Valerie Berrin, worked together to raise the bar on health education with their Health Information Project (HIP). HIP is a peer-to-peer program that allows students to teach each other about health problems, prevention, and how to access to local health resources toward reducing obesity, suicide, depression and other issues.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: Risa Berrin was a health reporter for her college newspaper when she first started seeing how teens were unaware or misinformed about health and prevention. She became part of the solution, starting a career as a certified human growth and reproductive health educator. While teaching law classes at a Miami-area ...
Taste tests are being held every month at Dexter Community Schools, to help students eat healthier "one bite at a time", reports a recent article. Students now have the opportunity to try fresh local fruits and veggies from their own school gardens, and from local farmers. Produce that is taste tested and enjoyed by students and staff then becomes incorporated into the schools menu. With funding from the Chelsea Area Wellness Foundation, through the 5 Healthy Towns Project the school has been incorporating a farm to school approach since 2011, their school gardens also are helping the children learn about growing produce, as well as trying new foods. One of the parents in the school, mentioned in the article talks about how she got kids excited about eating healthy. “I did a ...
Need tools on how to get recess back into your school? Many Latino kids do not get the daily activity needed, and recess is one way to help them achieve a healthier physical lifestyle. The Right to Recess Campaign was started to assist those looking to have recess in their school by providing PTA members, parents, teachers, and community leaders the much needed tools to keep recess going in their schools. Need recess in your school? Click this link to access free ...
Mary Colver, the school nurse at Little Fort Elementary School in Waukegan, IL, (55.7% Latino) wanted to get kids moving. She recognized obesity as a problem (33.6% of children in Illinois are obese), but also wanted to increase student’s performance in the classroom. With a grant from Action for Healthy Kids, Mary started 6 physical activity initiatives at her school: Morning music program
Brain breaks
Before-school exercise club
Family health night
Physical Activity Leaders program
Created a ½ mile walking path Students have responded very enthusiastically to the Morning Music Program. Every morning after the pledge of allegiance, a song is played in all the classrooms and students are required to get up and get moving. They can do jumping jacks, ...
Clean water access for Californians is a large issue for many rural latino families. California has the largest Latino population in the U.S. and unfortunately many without access to uncontaminated drinking water. According to the Community Water Center, California’s San Joaquin Valley has the highest rates of contaminated drinking water as well as the greatest number of public water systems with Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) violations in the state. The good news is that Federal and State investments along with California-based organizations are working on water quality and quantity in the dry state. A new partnership focused on conserving and restoring Sierra-Cascade California Headwaters will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other partners to ...
Kentucky, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama are among USDA's top states to receive 2015 Federal funding through the new initiative Local Food, Local Places.
Local Food, Local Places is a federal initiative providing direct technical support to help local food systems and grow local economy as well as help provide community kitchens, food hubs, enhance public spaces for people to walk or bike to farmers markets, and encourage gardens in schools.Communities work together in a holistic approach, with experts from all fields, including public health, environmental, agricultural, transportation, and regional economics. Harvesting the reports from 2014, the program brought in over 11 billion dollars and showed that local food is growing in popularity and sustainability. ...
Kids in the U.S are overweight and recess is being cut back in schools across the nation. In fact, a report from Vermont stated that in 2005 the overweight population had more than doubled in the last twenty years. A small-town teacher in Quechee, Vermont is taking a new approach for kids to have the much needed recess time in school. The innovative teacher, Eliza Minnucci, takes her classroom outside into the woods once a week for what she calls “Forest Monday”. Minnucci got her idea from a documentary in Switzerland where kids spend the whole school day outside. Minnucci keeps order of the classroom while visiting the woods with a few simple rules, however, she let’s them explore how to do and shape things, helping them become more resourceful in their ...
Studies from all over are funneling down on the facts about how nature and the great outdoors prove to help the learning environment for kids and adults alike. A recent study from US National Library of Health, reveals a link between the "greenness" of green spaces and school performance. Another study in 2015 from University of British Columbia, shows that rough play, usually in outdoor settings, increase a child's health socially and physically. These studies are finding the benefits of nature and being outdoors are helpful for: Cognitive Development
Memory Function
Critical Reasoning
Diversified Learning
Physical health To read more on this check out the full ...
The Michael & Susan dell Center for Healthy Living have multiple programs and projects that promote healthy living. Active-Play Active Learning (APAL) is just one of the many healthy programs that encourages healthy changes for kids. APAL is a school-based initiative that allows kids to become more active in recess and school time. APAL is incorporated through three main approaches: Classroom Brain Breaks- brief activity breaks that support academic learning and contribute active class transitions
School Playground Markings- beautified playground areas with locomotor markings that encourage learning and activity during recess and class time
Peer-Led Games- five to ten minute student led games Three times a year teachers are trained with interactive games and ...
