Spring 2010 Update at West
Project Healthy Schools (PHS) has been a part of Mrs. Brady’s sixth grade health classes this year. Thank you, Mrs. Brady! Students had the opportunity to compare their school lunch to MyPyramid, make and taste fruit and veggie salsa, and develop a healthier fast food meal after seeing that a common fast food meal provides most of the calories a person needs in a day! SuperSize Me, the documentary where the main character eats only at McDonald’s was reviewed by students. Posters were created to illustrate what they learned and posted in the cafeteria. This is just a look at what was covered but all ten of the activities emphasize one or more of the PHS goals:
- Eat more fruits and veggies.
- Include less mindless screen time.
- Make wise beverage choices (milk, water and 100% juice)
- Get at least 30 minutes of activity most days.
- Eat less fast and fatty foods.
Breakfast is available, free of charge to all students, at the beginning of the school day in their first hour classrooms. More students are eating breakfast than ever before. Fewer students should be complaining of headaches, attention spans should be lengthened and students should make better food choices all day after they eat breakfast.
In April, students whose parents consented in the fall, participated in their second health screening. It included cholesterol, blood pressure, and fitness tests. Parents of these students should expect a results letter from Project Healthy Schools in June.
The wellness team continues to meet monthly and has encourage participation in the Mustangs on the Move walking program. The school will be walking together on ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously) Day, probably with music!
The team was awarded a Safe Routes to School grant so surveys and a walking audit is underway to evaluate current practices. More people will be needed to provide input and expertise for this group soon.
Seed2Plate, an after-school club, continues to attract about 12 students weekly. They learn about healthy foods and gardening. Field trips to Growing Hope’s hoop house and the indoor Farmer’s market were a hit.
A basketball tournament is planned as an American Heart Association Hoops for Hearts fundraiser in May. Field Day will follow in June. Thank you, Mr. Cummer!
Make this the summer you continue the PHS goals at your home!
Yours in health,
Cathy Fitzgerald
PHS coordinator at East and West
Ypsilanti - West Middle School
Project Healthy Schools challenges 6th grade students to learn why and how healthy eating and being more active can make them healthier today and in the future. During health class the PHS activities include learning about MyPyramid while sampling a hot lunch selection, making fruit and veggie salsa (recipe below), comparing their heart rate after sitting and running, and identifying activities they can do other than spend time in front of a screen and making a Bingo game out of it and more!
In December all sixth grade students took part in half an hour of activity similar to “boot camp.” Upbeat music and aerobic exercises led by a University of Michigan exercise physiologist got everyone moving. Stretching those tired muscles helped the students cool down.
Is your West student interested in cooking or gardening? Seed2Plate, an after school group, is starting in February. Talk to Mrs. Brady, watch for flyers and listen to announcements for details.
Good news from the West Wellness Team, West was awarded a Safe Routes to School grant recently. The team is working hard to encourage more activity at school since active students are better learners. Each grade is trying to be the first to ‘walk’ all of Route 66. Minutes of walking are converted into miles. Check out the map across from the technology room to see which grade is leading the charge.
Make activity part of your life, too! Bundle up and go for a walk or find a place indoors to walk. Consider a brisk walk indoors around the perimeter of Briarwood Mall. No shopping is allowed until after completing your walk!
A Rainbow of Color Salsa Recipe (makes 20 small portions)
-1 quart bag frozen peaches -Spice Packet Ingredients
-½ quart bag of frozen cherries -¼ tsp of the following:
-Large can pineapple tidbits in juice -Ground Cumin
-2-3 green onions -Kosher Salt
-½ red pepper - Black Pepper
-1 lime -Dried Cilantro
-1 kiwi
-Chopped parsley
-1 Tbsp olive oil
-1 spice packet
Notes: Chop ingredients into small pieces and combine all, stirring in the spice packet last. Serve with blue corn chips to make a rainbow of color! Makes about 5 cups. Create your own salsa changing the amount of an item or using different fruits or vegetables, including as many locally grown foods as possible.
Questions about Project Healthy Schools? Go to www.projecthealthyschools.org or call Cathy at 975-3060.
Project Healthy Schools (PHS)
A Community-University of Michigan Collaborative
June, 2009
- ACTIVITIES: All 6th graders participated in 10 Project Healthy Schools activities in Mrs. Brady’s health class. These hands-on activities focused on:
- Overview of what will happen with PHS this year
- My Lunch, My Pyramid - How does that lunch tray compare to My Pyramid?
- Better Beverages - choose milk, water and juice most often
- Get the Beat! - Get active most days of the week to make your heart healthier
- Rainbow of Color - Making fruit & veggie salsa
- Assessing Advertising – Figure out the tricks advertisers use to get you to buy food
- Facts on Fat - Making better choices at fast food place
- SuperSized - Portions are so large we overeat without thinking about it
- Reducing Screen Time - Less screen time means more time for activity
- ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ using PHS questions
- LARGE GROUP ACTIVITES
- 6th graders took part in two special physical education activities
- In the spring students got active in a boot camp experience that had lots of exercises and fun music
- Last fall students in small groups took part in strength training, aerobic and flexibility exercises
- 6th graders learned about the importance of healthy eating and activity at the PHS kickoff assembly. Several students participated in skits that showed the PHS goals.
- HEART HEALTHY SCREENINGS:
- In the spring and last fall 6th graders and 7th graders with their parent’s consent took part in a heart healthy screenings. Parents received results letters that shared their student’s blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
- AFTERSCHOOL GROUPS:
- Seed2Plate is a gardening and cooking group that met weekly from March through the end of school with 3-8 students attending. Vegetables and flowers were planted, tended in the greenhouses and sent home with student, and plant fundamentals were learned. Snacks featuring fruits and veggies were prepared using recipes and eaten as a group.
- INCREASED COMMUNICATION: Parents, staff and students were targeted.
- Parents: The school newsletter included aPHS article with updates, nutrition tips, recipes and web resources.
- Staff: Staff members indicated their areas of interest on a survey and PHS provided information, including:
- non food rewards in the classroom
- healthy lifestyles curriculum tie-ins
- blood pressure
- cholesterol
- staff interested in walking or joining an exercise class
- Students: Two displays near the cafeteria changed monthly and featured interactive displays and photos of students. A fun new addition included milk moustache photos this year.
- LIVING WHAT YOU LEARN: 6th grade students tracked what fruit and veggies they ate at lunch, the beverage they chose and their outside-of-school activity minutes in the spring. Ms Mayol’s and Ms Miller’s classes competed to see which hour earned the most points. Students who reached a certain point level were entered in a drawing for prizes, too.
- School Wellness Team: Amelia Brady, Joel Osborne, Monica Merritt, CJ Falsetta and parent, Beth Darnell, along with Cathy, the PHS rep met monthly to work on implementing goals to make West a healthier place to be. This year students and staff took part in walking challenges! A trophy was awarded to the grade that ‘arrived’ at the destination first!
Coming Next Year!
- Support PHS and get more activity! Register for the Big House Big Heart run/walk. You finish in the big house on the 50 yard line! Choose between a 1 mile, 5K or 10K run or walk. Volunteer before race day and $30 will be paid towards your race fee!
- Get a team together for the Big House Big Heart run/walk and raise money for PHS! Visit the Big House Big Heart website for details
- Come to a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, October 3 from 9am till noon at the Big House Big Heart Expo at Pioneer High School. Children under 5 are free. Reduced price family tickets will be available. More details soon.
February, 2009
What’s Happening?
Remind your 6th grade student to choose milk, water or juice at lunch the week of January 26. Then help them be more active the week of February 2 and encourage them to eat more fruits and vegetables at lunch the week of February 9. Why? Sixth graders are tracking their healthier choices the next three weeks to win prizes and to develop healthier habits. Carry these habits into your home by serving milk, water or juice for meals and snacks, aim for at least 30 minutes of activity most days, have fruit out on the counter and include vegetables with dinner every night. Healthy habits make for healthy people!
All sixth graders participate in 10 PHS lessons during health class that focus on:
- Making wiser beverage choices
- Eating less fast and fatty foods
- Including less screen time
- Eating more fruits and veggies and
- Getting more physical activity.
New After School Group! Seed2Plate on Mondays!
Join us in Mrs. (Skwiers) Brady’s room (just before the cafeteria) after school on Mondays to have fun with food - from seeds to what we eat. Each week will include a gardening event, a snack you make and lots of fun. Plan to ride the late bus home! See you Mondays after school! Sponsored by Growing Hope and Project Healthy Schools assisted by Mrs Brady.
Added: URWhta you eat info flyer from We Can! & Chicken Broccoli MFit recipe and logo
January, 2009
Project Healthy Schools is busy working with sixth graders at Ypsilanti - West Middle School to increase physical activity and healthy food choices. Students learn new skills and build habits that make them healthier today and tomorrow. Sixth grade students participate in:
- a heart healthy screening, with a parent or guardian’s consent (see below)
- 10 hands-on activities that are part of health class this year
- physical activity add-on classes to expose students to different activities that get everyone moving
- extra activities to encourage healthy eating and more physical activity
Heart Healthy Screening
Sixth Graders:
All sixth graders have the opportunity to participate in a heart healthy screening this fall. Please contact Cathy, the wellness coordinator for East, by the end of September to sign your sixth grader up if you haven’t signed a form yet. The screening include:
- a fitness test
- height and weight
- a blood pressure check
- a cholesterol check
The results are not shared with the students but you get a letter with your child’s blood pressure and cholesterol results. Students are screened in the fall and spring this school year and then at the end of seventh, eighth, ninth and possible 10th grade. Letters with your child’s results and suggested action steps will be mailed home after each screening.
Seventh Graders:
All the students who took part in the screening last year as sixth graders:
- will be screened in the spring of 2009. Results letters will be mailed home after the screening.
- can sign up to be screened at the end of eighth, ninth and 10th grade. Look for more information later this year or contact Cathy to sign up today.
Questions about Project Healthy Schools? Contact Cathy Fitzgerald, MA, RD; Project Healthy Schools Wellness Coordinator, 734-975-3060 or cfitz@umich.edu.
