The New Look Woodhaven....continued

Wellness

For the past two years Woodhaven, led by Mr. James Coghill and Mrs. Keri Getz Bradshaw (hereby referred to as Ms. KGB), has been moving towards creating a school which values the health and wellness of each student and staff member.  This initiative was started as a response to a U of A study on student wellness which showed that 29% of Grade 5 students in Alberta are considered obese.  Woodhaven was part of that study.  The life long impact of this statistic is well known.  As a school we decided that we would do our best to halt this epidemic and present students with life style alternatives which could increase activity and change food choices.

This has resulted in a series initiatives.  Last year this included:

1. Grab and Go Breakfast...in conjunction with Parent Counsel, Woodhaven offers a health morning snack to any student who wishes it.  Our parents bake muffins and homemade granola and it is free for the taking along with juice and cheese strings.  Set up in the main hall in the morning, all the children pay is a smile and a thank you.  This year the program is subsidized by levying a surcharge of 5% on all fund raising and putting it towards the program.
2. Reversed Lunch Hour:  Grades 7-9 eat the first half of lunch, with 5 and 6 eating second.  This allows us to maximize the use of all our activity spaces, run intramurals all noon hour, run zumba and yoga classes, and reduce playground congestion.  All of this is done to increase lunch hour activity.
3. Healthy Snacks:Snack attack has changed what they offer for morning break so there are healthy food alternatives.  Smoothies are a hit!
4. Wellness Calendars: In an attempt to make students aware of their activity levels, they are tracking this on calendars daily.
5. Daily Physical Activity: Students have a daily PE program led by experts.  The focus is not on the big games but rather on physical skill development for life long activity.

This year we have tweaked the program slightly.  The major adjustment is in the area of what students can drink at school.  In the past we have not allowed slushes and energy drinks in the school.  The high sugar and caffeine content do not help student learning.  This year we have expanded this to include soft drinks.  The average 700ml drink contains 25g of sugar.  Again, this does not contribute to learning.  We ask your assistance in this matter by leaving these drinks out of your child's lunch.

Next...more new staff

Cheers