Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge Success Stories
Amory School District – Amory, MS
A true testament to the power of a united community, Amory School District’s Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge not only brought together elementary, middle, and high schools students, it also recruited more than 300 adults to participate in the challenge course. The district received modest grant funding from the Mississippi Action for Healthy Kids Team to host their event, which received unmatched support and involvement of community organizations and government agencies including the district’s PTO, the Mississippi Department of Education, the local Dairy Council, local hospitals, the American Red Cross and United Way organizations, and the Amory Fire and Police Departments. In a formal demonstration of Amory’s collective belief in the importance of fostering sound nutrition and physical activity for children, Mayor Howard Boozer declared September 8, 2006 - the day of the Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge event - “Community Physical Fitness Day”.
Amory School District ensured that students of all ages could participate in the festivities and benefit from its lessons. West Amory Elementary teachers and staff utilized the Tools for Success, provided by Action for Healthy Kids, to successfully modify the course for their K – 4 students. Kicking off the Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge event for the elementary and middle-school students, Amory High School students brought the USDA’s MyPyramid for Kids to life with a theatrical performance they named “Going Bananas to Beat the Burger”. After the challenge course concluded, participants re-fueled with healthy snacks and beverages.
Kenly Elementary School – Tampa, FL
Event coordinators at Kenly Elementary were able to promote the school’s Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge event by distributing Save the Date flyers, conducting interviews with local media, and posting it on the school’s marquee. Recognizing the importance of families as models of healthy behaviors for their children, Kenly Elementary planned its event to take place on a weeknight from 5 – 6:30pm to accommodate the work schedules of many parents. The local YMCA contributed to Kenly’s event by providing an instructor to teach tae kwon do to 3rd graders in the weeks leading up to the evening of Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge. Then, at the event, the 3rd graders became the instructors and led other participants in the tae kwon do exercises they had learned.
Teachers and staff extended the momentum of Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge at Kenly Elementary to include more physical activity during the school day, without taking time away from academic studies. With grant funding from the Florida Action for Healthy Kids Team, the school purchased supplies to create an obstacle course on the sidewalks and hallways of the campus. During passing periods, from class to the cafeteria or the gymnasium, students would hop over logs painted on the sidewalks, jump in and out of hoops in the hallways, or play lady bug hopscotch. Kenly Elementary’s Game On! The Ultimate Wellness Challenge activities demonstrate that with a little creativity and a whole lot of dedication, schools can engage families in the wellness promotions at their child’s school and squeeze wellness practices into their already stretched budgets and time constraints.