Grant Program Summary

2009-2010

An Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

The success of the Healthy Habits for Life grant program continued to grow in 2009-2010 as additional dollars were distributed to the highest number of grant recipients ever, allowing those school nurses, teachers and other administrators to create health-focused programs that reached thousands of Kansas children. Congratulations to the 56 grant recipients who shared $53,371.42! The programs funded by Healthy Habits for Life grants are as diverse as our schools, but they all have one thing in common: all funded programs are designed to help Kansas children reduce their cardiovascular risk, increase their physical activity or learn healthy eating habits. In the following pages of this Grant Program Summary 2009-2010, the grant recipients share with you, in their own words, an overview of their programs, including the positive outcomes they achieved, the challenges they faced in implementing the program at their school, the number of children impacted by their program and a measurement of their success. This summary guide was compiled for two reasons. In addition to illustrating how grant dollars reach Kansas children and their families, these summaries also serve as a resource of ideas for other school personnel who are looking for proven ways to reach their students regarding health and wellness topics. That is why each summary also provides you with contact information so you can call or e-mail one of the grantees if you would like to learn more about a specific program. In closing, it is my pleasure to share some exciting news with you regarding an expansion of the Healthy Habits for Life grant program for 2010-2011. As the grant program embarks on its fifth giving cycle, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation board of directors has increased funding to $100,000, an amount which will help staff members at more Kansas schools reach more children. The postmark application deadline for the next giving cycle is Oct. 15. Funds will be distributed in mid-December and can be used for programs during the 2011 calendar year. For more information, please visit www.bcbsks.com/ foundation. The Foundation is increasing its financial commitment to Healthy Habits for Life because our leaders understand the importance of finding solutions to lower the incidence of childhood obesity while putting our children on the path to a lifetime of good health. We also recognize that, while this is an important priority, school budgets are tighter than ever and many Kansas schools are struggling to find the resources they need for basic educational programs. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation hopes to help fill some of those funding gaps by increasing grant opportunities through Healthy Habits for Life.

Marlou Wegener Chief Operating Officer Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation

Healthy Habits for Life Grant Recipients

District Nurse or Program Administrator School Amount

USD 205 Janice Hus, RN Bluestem Elementary School $1,000

USD 214 Katrina Benyshek, RN, BSN, NCSN Hickok Elementary School $1,000

USD 224 Jane Meyer, RN, BSN Clifton-Clyde Schools $1,000

USD 234 Pam Brown, RN Fort Scott High School $975

USD 234 Robin Hartman, RN Winfield Scott Elementary School $1,000

USD 239 Tammy Schmidt Minneapolis Grade Schools $1,000

USD 240 Angie Alexander, RN, BSN Bennington Schools $940

USD 241 Inga Sloan Wallace County School $1,000

USD 243 Lindsay Payer, RN, BSN Lebo/Waverly $500

USD 245 Cindy Joy Southern Coffey County $500

USD 249 Terri Merando Frank Layden Elementary School $1,000

USD 259 Margaret Chisham, BSN, RN, NCSN Greiffenstein Special Education Center $1,000

USD 261 Wendy Lewis, RN Tri-City Day School $1,000

USD 263 Kendra Kanaga, RN Mulvane Grade School $1,000

USD 266 Michelle Palmquist, RN Maize Middle School $1,000

USD 268 Jessa Albers & Jennifer Bartlett Cheney Elementary School $912

USD 284 Erica Grayson, RN, BSN Chase County Elementary School $1,000

USD 293 Esther Thielen Quinter Elementary School $1,000

USD 306 Sandra Rogers, RN, BSN Southeast of Saline $939.87

USD 308 Lori Rayl Hutchinson High School $1,000

USD 325 Joyce Morgan, RN Phillipsburg Elementary School $1,000

USD 333 Jayme Peterson, RN Concordia Elementary/Concordia Middle Schools $1,000

USD 335 Valerie Olberding, RN Jackson Heights Middle/High School $987

USD 345 Claudia Welch & Nancy Ellison, RN Seaman High School $999.60

USD 349 Lisa Cornwell, RN Stafford Elementary $1,000

USD 354 Jane Steinert, RN Claflin Elementary School $1,000

USD 358 Dixie Simpson, BAN, RN, MICT Oxford Elementary $950

USD 373 Karen Lehman, RN, MSN Newton High School $1,000

USD 373 Donna Eigsti, RN South Breeze Elementary School $1,000

USD 376 Kristi Wilson Sterling Grade School $1,000

USD 380 Suzy Parthemer, RN Frankfort Schools $1,000

USD 387 Judy Sims, RN Altoona-Midway $989

USD 420 Kristi Gantenbein Osage City Elementary School $960

USD 431 Stacy Dolechek, RN, BSN Hoisington Middle School $1,000

USD 434 Jeannette Lewis, RN, BSN Santa Fe Trail High School $971.68

Healthy Habits for Life Grant Recipients

District Nurse or Program Administrator School Amount

USD 437 Bev Rogers, RN Washburn Rural High School $1,000

USD 440 Brenda Radke Halstead Middle School $965

USD 441 Diane Schoening, RN Sabetha Elementary/Wetmore Elementary $690.97

USD 445 Melissa Page, RMA Roosevelt Middle School $898.20

USD 456 Twila Wollenberg & Kristy Markham

Marais des Cygnes Valley Elementary School $819

USD 457 Teresa Utz, RN Gertrude Walker Elementary $1,000

USD 457 Teresa Utz, RN Jennie Barker Elementary School $500

USD 457 Kimberly Partin, RN Jennie Wilson & Georgia Matthews Elementaries $1,000

USD 462 Micki Wunderlich, RN Central Schools $1,000

USD 464 Heather DeMaranville, RN Tonganoxie Middle School $992.75

USD 481 Karla Effland, RN White City $983.35

USD 481 Renae Hickert Hope School $1,000

USD 497 Lu-Yuen “Cathy” Mao, RN Central Junior High School $1,000

USD 498 Kathleen Steinfort Valley Heights $1,000

USD 501 Courtney Halverson Chase Middle School $1,000

USD 508 Shelly Grimes Baxter Springs Schools $1,000

USd 511 Tammie Stroud Attica $1,000

Jeff Colombo Cair Paravel Latin School $905

Debbie Martin Holy Rosary-Wea Catholic Grade School $1,000

Lori Torline, RN St. Mary Parish Catholic School $1,000

Jill Stean, RN Xavier Elementary Leavenworth Regional Catholic School $993

USD 205 Janice Hus, RN Bluestem Elementary School jhus@usd205.com Leon, KS 316-742-3291 Program Description: The $1,000 grant money was truly appreciated by our school. It enabled us to purchase a comprehensive health curriculum for our K-6th grade students at Bluestem Elementary. This grant coupled with another smaller grant allowed us to purchase The Great Body Shop health curriculum for all 7 grades which is approximately 240 students.

With AYP, state testing and budget cuts the priority in teaching our students has put health and wellness on the back burner. We have managed to assert the importance of both of these by reorganizing the schedule. We now allow 25-30 minutes of physical education every day with all students. The PE teacher can then use two to four days each month for health instruction.

The Great Body Shop is awesome because it allows the instructor to present a sound curriculum to the varying age groups with minimal planning involved. The health curriculum is comprehensive and builds on itself from grade to grade, yet each lesson can be taught individually. It does not rely on previous lessons as the foundation for the rest. There is a lot of flexibility in how and when the lessons are presented. The curriculum is informative and current. It addresses character education, healthy choices, body functions and general wellness. The fliers or handouts are attractive and colorful. There are parent information letters, too. The instructor can choose from suggested experiments in order to enhance the lessons being taught which can vary depending on the time allowed to present and preparation time available. Positive Outcome: The positive factor behind the curriculum is that it is being taught instead of put on the back burner. We are really trying to support the wellness policy of our district as we continue to strive for AYP and standards of excellence in our academic areas. Challenges Faced: The downfall is the instructor feels some of these experiments are a little boring. The instructor also expressed the desire to seek out a training session for teaching the curriculum and would like to see some more Web sites listed as resources. Measurement: The teacher does give grades to the students based on classroom participation, observation of student interaction and completed worksheets. So far the kids really seem to enjoy the lessons and the older kids really get some good group discussions going.

USD 214 Katrina Benyshek, RN, BSN, NCSN Hickok Elementary School kbenyshek@ulysses.org Ulysses, KS 620-356-1690 Program Description: The students at Hickok Elementary School took advantage of the Healthy Habits for Life grant by continuing a walking program that had been started at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. There are several students who arrive early in the morning, before the bell rings releasing the students to the class. The students who arrive early have to wait in the lunch room. Half of the lunch room is used for students eating breakfast and half is for students who are not eating breakfast, but cannot go to the room yet. The school nurse picks up the students who are not eating and would like to go walking. The students go with the nurse and a para professional across the street to a park and walk a lap on the sidewalk. They walk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. This is a totally voluntary program and the students are not required to walk. We had several mornings this winter that were cold and windy, causing us to stay inside to walk in the gym. Positive Outcome: The money provided by the grant was used to buy water bottles for the whole student body and staff. Five hundred water bottles were bought at a total cost of $395. “Live Strong” bracelets will be given to each student who has participated in the walking program. Three hundred bracelets were purchased at a cost of $311.05. T-shirts with a Tigers in motion graphic will be given to the top boy and top girl from each class who has walked the farthest. Fifty T-shirts will be purchased at a cost of $8 a piece. The rest of the grant money will be used for this as well as money from a grant obtained by Communities in Schools. Thirty bike helmets also were obtained and these will be given to the top mileage walkers in the school; 15 girl and 15 boy helmets were obtained as part of the Safe Kids Kansas Grant. Challenges Faced: Participation dropped considerably when we had to start going to the gym. We started playing “Follow the Leader,” when we were in the gym and the participation numbers went back up. The students do not go outside when the weather is cool; right now the numbers have dropped again, but I feel they will pick back up once the weather stays warmer. The students love to run and they are being given that opportunity as long as they do not get close to the streets. We have walkers and runners. It has been a very rewarding experience for me, the school nurse, to get to know the students better. Hopefully, the students are gaining habits that they will continue throughout their life. Number of Children Impacted: There were about 293 students who participated at some time during the year. They have walked a total of 960.25 miles. Measurement: We keep track of students’ mileage by giving them a ticket as they come into the building from their walk. Each ticket amounts to a quarter of a mile.

USD 224 Jane Meyer, RN, BSN Clifton-Clyde Schools jmeyer@usd224.com Clifton, KS 785-455-3323 Program Description: Our project targeted all the students in USD 224. We provided healthy snacks throughout the year to the students. At the time the snacks were given out, we discussed additional information such as what to look for on the label of the snack, what the snack included from the food pyramid, and how the snack could be altered. We made cheese quesadillas for one snack with torts and filled the torts with various healthy foods, they could even eat them for a quick breakfast because we found we have a lot of kids who say they don’t have time to eat breakfast. Another example of a snack we did was a trail mix with nuts and dried fruit. We educated the students that you could use various nuts and dried fruits; this would be an easy snack to take to track meet or on a field trip. Various fresh fruits, vegetables and yogurt were some of the other snacks provided to the students.

At our staff in-service the district food supervisor and I gave a presentation to staff about providing nutritious snacks or allowing students extra recess for rewards instead of candy.

Nutrition Nuggets Newsletter was purchased to send home to parents monthly as well as we posted it on our Web site. The newsletter gives families ideas on ways to improve their children’s nutrition and physical fitness with simple everyday ideas. The newsletter includes tips for healthy shopping and ideas for quick and easy nutritious recipes. We also worked the River Valley Extension who came in to present various health educational topics to our students.

We conducted our annual Family Fun Night where each classroom will have a booth to present to the other students and families healthy snacks along with fun activities to get them to exercise in a fun way. They will take the information they have learned to come up with a fun, educational booth for their classroom to present.

We hope to improve the lives of our students and families for the rest of their lives by giving them the knowledge they need to develop healthy lifestyle habits. Positive Outcome: I think the students’ awareness of their eating habits was raised and when given the choice of healthy foods they will eat them. Students’ parents have told me how their children has come home and asked them to buy certain snack foods they had tried at school. Challenges Faced: Coordinating the presentations with teachers and schedules were among some challenges we faced. The FACS teacher only teaches nutrition classes the first semester so I plan to use the rest of the funds when school resumes in the fall of 2010 with the FACS students. The students will learn how to plan, shop, prepare, cook and eat meals prepared in a healthy way instead of buying so many prepared foods or eating out.

Number of Children Impacted: Two hundred forty students in USD 224 and 50 staff. Measurement: The greatest indicator of students’ increased knowledge of healthy eating has been when I am in the lunch room interacting with the students and they comment on what foods are healthy for them and what they have eaten recently that was healthy for them.

USD 234 Pam Brown, RN Fort Scott High School pbrown@usd234.org Fort Scott, KS 620-223-0600 Program Description: The purchase of the heart rate monitors allowed the girls physical education classes the opportunity to learn the importance of exercising in their individual heart rate zones and how to interpret their data from the monitors. The PE teacher was able to implement the use of the heart rate monitors into her fitness class, as well as use them periodically with individuals in other classes. Originally, she had six monitors, and this grant gave her the opportunity to purchase three more. A total of nine monitors allowed her to outfit most of the girls in the small fitness class. Every Monday, the fitness class participates in a 20-minute cardio circuit. The girls do a combination of running, walking and jumping rope. She was able to provide a heart rate monitor to most of the girls in class and teach them how to use them. The information each girl was able to interpret from the heart rate monitor was amazing. The girls learned the importance of exercise and how to attain their target heart rate zone. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of this program was the girls learning how to exercise in their target heart rate zone. When the girls would run, most would have to slow down because they were exercising too hard. When the girls would walk, most would have to walk faster because they were not exercising hard enough to keep their heart rate in their zone. The girls really had to work hard at keeping their heart rate in their target zone. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of administering the program was convincing the girls the importance of exercising in their target heart rate zone. Some of the girls did not feel they were exercising hard enough to benefit from their exercise session. It took them awhile to get use to exercising a new way. One of the best lessons the girls learned was how fast they needed to walk to reach their target heart rate zone. The PE teacher explained to them regularly that exercise is not as beneficial if they are not exercising in their zone. The heart rate monitors allowed the girls to regularly know if they were exercising too hard or too easy. Number of Children Impacted: Approximately 220 girls were impacted by the use of the heart rate monitors. They were used regularly with the fitness class of 11n girls and periodically would be used with a 4th block of 12 girls. Since she only had nine heart rate monitors, it worked well with the smaller classes. If a student was not able to use a heart rate monitor one day, then the PE teacher made sure she had one the next day. Nine monitors were shared between approximately 12 girls each time they used them. Her goal for the heart rate monitor program is to provide heart rate monitors for every girl in class. Currently, we have nine heart rate monitors, so we are making progress towards that goal.

Measurement: The girls learned how to wear the heart rate monitors and measure the effectiveness of their individual workout sessions. They accomplished this by learning how to recall and interpret the data from their individual heart rate monitor. After learning how to use the heart rate monitors, the girls saw how many total minutes they exercised, how many minutes they exercised in their zone, how many minutes they exercised above their zone and how many minutes they exercised below their zone. When the girls were finished exercising, they knew how to immediately recall their exercise data.

USD 234 Robin Hartman, RN Winfield Scott Elementary School rhartman@usd234.org Fort Scott, KS 620-223-0450, ext. 223 Program Description: Here at Winfield Scott Elementary, with our Healthy Habits for Life grant, we addressed the issues of childhood obesity, hunger and poverty. We purchased animal crackers, as they are low in fat, low in sugar, and our students with food allergies can have them. These were provided to classrooms in unlimited amounts. Our educational piece to this program included writing Healthy Tips in the monthly school newsletter, 5th grade students reading Healthy Tips three days/week over the school intercom; and K-2-4 teachers highlighting Healthy Education Facts weekly. We also continued a long-standing educational tool here at Winfield Scott of having the Bourbon County extension agent come to our 2nd and 4th grade classrooms once a month to conduct 35-minute lectures on healthy eating. They also have a "nutrition olympics" for 2nd and 4th graders at the end of the school year. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of this program was that our students had healthy snacks available in unlimited quantities. There was “always enough.” Our office staff never had to tell a child “We are out of snacks.” That in-and-of-itself was tremendous. Also, the children were hearing regular, age-appropriate facts regarding nutrition and physical activity. Challenges Faced: We, here at Winfield Scott, really did not experience a challenge. It was a blessing to be able to purchase our snacks in large quantities and we gave them away in large quantities! The one challenge was keeping our snack cupboard stocked! It was simple to supply the classrooms with the animal crackers, as teachers have large Tupperware containers they would send to the office for refills. Office staff would refill the container and send it right back to the classroom. It was that easy. Number of Children Impacted: Our current enrollment is 450 (K-5th grade). Our program impacted all these students. Measurement: Our goal with this program was to decrease stomachache complaints as well as to decrease class time missed by providing healthy daily snacks. This goal was measured by recording visits in the nurses' office and by verbal feedback from teachers regarding children's verbalizations in the classroom. In the office, we have seen stomachache complaints decrease dramatically. Before the grant program started, we were seeing 20-30 students with stomachache complaints each day. Currently, we see five or fewer students with stomachache complaints a day. This is a decrease of approximately 84%. Feedback from teachers also was positive. Teachers report the verbalizations in the classroom of stomachaches/hunger have decreased significantly, as well. Currently, it is simply not an issue, due to the graciousness of this grant program.

USD 239 Tammy Schmidt Minneapolis Grade School hnelson@usd239.org Minneapolis, KS 785-392-2111 Program Description: Minneapolis Grade School has 267 students enrolled in physical education class every day. We implemented a program which began using exercise donuts during each PE class’s daily warm-up exercises. The students do a variety of different activities on or with the donuts for approximately 10 minutes a day. The exercise donuts improve muscle tone, flexibility, posture, core strength, coordination and balance. All students are given the opportunity to use the exercise donuts within the boundaries of their individual abilities. The donuts provide a new and fun way for the students to stay active. The exercise donuts provide low impact exercises that can be incorporated into lifelong behaviors. With obesity on the rise we would like to give our students the tools to start and continue healthy lifestyles beyond their school years and into adulthood.

The PE teacher also provided monthly nutrition education to Minneapolis grade school students by using the publication, “Nutrition Nuggets.” We hope to help the students develop a better understanding of nutrition and an increased knowledge of a proper diet. The PE teacher incorporated some of this information into our monthly school newsletter. Our school newsletter goes home to every family in our district. The information addresses healthy snack ideas, ways to exercise as a family and other healthy lifestyle choices. Positive Outcome: Exercise Donuts – The most positive outcome of the program is for each student to establish healthy exercise habits that can be continued into adulthood. The exercises and activities are directed so that every student participates within the boundaries of their individual abilities. All students can succeed.

Nutrition Nuggets – One positive outcome is the quality of material included in this literature that is reaching the homes of all our families. The newsletter provides a wide variety of fun activities that can help families find a way to enjoy eating healthier and exercising together. Challenges Faced: Exercise Donuts – The PE instructor reported no real challenges in implementing this program other than storage of the donuts. This problem was quickly resolved once she visited with our amazing lead custodian, who built a mobile storage rack.

Nutrition Nuggets – The most challenging aspect of this program was finding the time to implement it during the regular PE class time. Number of Children Impacted: Exercise Donuts & Nutrition Nuggets – All of the 1st-6th grade students, 267 children.

Measurement: Exercise Donuts – The PE instructor used observation to measure the benefits of this program. The program has been in effect for one month and the visual observations were: increased stability, increased balance and less falling off of the donuts with the improvement of coordination.

The PE teacher conducts tests in endurance and flexibility and also a mile run challenge for the students yearly. She logs this information which will be assessed from year-to-year as the student progresses through our district.

Nutrition Nuggets – As students increase their healthy choices from year-to-year, the school nurse will monitor the student illness numbers. The school nurse collects height and weight data on selected grade levels, which is used for monitoring obesity and BMI data.

USD 240 Angie Alexander, RN, BSN Bennington Schools aalexander@ben.usd240.k12.ks.us Bennington, KS 785-488-3323 Program Description: The Healthy Habits for Life grant allowed USD 240 Bennington an opportunity to experience a virtual playground. Last year, we completed new additions to expand our school but due to the economy our funds were lacking. Our parent organization lead many fundraisers to raise money for a new playground. As of today, we still do not have a traditional playground for our students.

With this grant money, we were able to invest in an alternative means of recreation. We purchased two Nintendo Wii Fit game systems with balance boards and extra hand controls. The Wii Fit games were introduced in all physical education classes. The school nurse and physical education teachers worked together to introduce the Wii activities. We taught the older students how to calculate their target heart to get the maximum benefit of their workout. Emphasis was placed on the fun of Wii games and activities for the younger students. Students also learned the many benefits of physical exercise. Positive Outcome: The students thought playing the Wii was fun. Many of the students do not have a Wii so they were able to experience a different type of physical exercise or sport. Even our Youth Friends Program participated in checking out the Wii with their grade school partner. Different grades checked them out for holiday parties. Teachers liked this as it made the holiday parties more structured. Junior high students as well as high school groups also reserved the Wii for special activities. Challenges Faced: The biggest challenge was locating extra hand controls. When we received the grant money it was around Christmas break. Many of the stores were out of stock of extra hand controls and other accessories. I did not get everything listed on the application until March. Later, I discovered a Wii package in a school nurse supply magazine. If I knew of the Wii package that would have saved time going store to store to see if they had extra accessories. The second challenge was the older students did not realize how to hook up the Wii so they could play with their younger Youth Friends. An instructional sign was placed with the TV to explain how to connect the Wii through the TV/VCR. Number of Children Impacted: The Wii units are checked out of our library so it is available to all of the student's preschool through 12th grade. About 240 students in the physical education classes participated in the Wii exercises. This number does not include all of the students who checked it out for various other activities.

Measurement: I developed two questionnaires for the students to complete. Questionnaire A was for students in preschool through 3rd grade. This was easier for them to complete. Questionnaire B was for 4th grade through 12th. The questionnaires explored the idea of what they played (either the Wii Sports or the Wii Fit Board) and benefits of regular exercise. Questionnaire B asked the students how to find their target heart rates. Emphasis was placed on how physical exercise can be fun. Every student who participated enjoyed the Wii and enjoyed trying new physical activities.

USD 241 Inga Sloan Wallace County School wchealth@fairpoint.net Sharon Springs, KS 785-852-4252 Program Description: We are offering an after-school program for grades 1-3. We discuss the food pyramid at great length, make healthy snacks and play games that focused on healthy life habits and exercise. Positive Outcome: The kids are able to tell the food groups and number of servings they need as well as tell why each food group is necessary for healthy living. They are more conscious of making better snack choices and making sure they get the suggested servings from each food group daily. Challenges Faced: Keeping the material on a level that was easy for each grade level without being boring to the older kids. Number of Children Impacted: Twenty-six out of the 43 enrolled in these grades. Measurement: We did BMIs at the start of the program on each child. We also have the children keep food and exercise logs for each week. We will be looking at the BMIs at the end of the program.

USD 243 Lindsay Payer, RN, BSN Lebo/Waverly School lpayer@mail.coffeycountyks.org Waverly, KS 620-364-8631 Program Description: We offered a health fair at the Waverly school for K-6th grades. The health fair had stations regarding smoking (pig lung presentation), oral health, skin care (cancer, sunscreen), turbo kick/yoga, seatbelt safety, food pyramid, handwashing and bullying. Each group of eight students had eight minutes at each station. They were provided a goody bag at the entrance and items at most booths. Positive Outcome: The positive outcome is that the students received accurate, age-appropriate information from local community "heroes" and were provided the opportunity to interact and ask questions on each topic. Challenges Faced: The first project (evidence-based program for children with obesity or overweight) tried did not have adequate participation and having to change to another project mid-year. Number of Children Impacted: 138 Measurement: Because the program had to be changed, we are unable to track our progress in impacting obesity. The success of this event was measured by the event occurring and the children enjoying it.

USD 249 Terri Merando Frank Layden Elementary School tmerando@frontenac249.org Frontenac, KS 620-231-7790, ext. 114 Program Description: Being a grant recipient for a couple years, I had focused on physical activity and healthy snacks; but this year I would like to start a school garden. I want to have 4th graders be in charge and other grades can contribute, too, along with guidance from their teachers and my help to grow a raised bed garden of fruits and vegetables. The students will be exerting energy planting the garden and tending to it throughout the spring, summer and fall. Creating our school garden will provide student-centered and hands-on-learning which will enhance their learning culture.

Planting a garden from seed to seedlings, tending to it, and eating the harvest hopefully will encourage students to get their families involved in gardening and making healthier choices in their diet. Teachers can incorporate their math and science standards into this endeavor.

I feel this will be an effective tool to use to encourage students to try a variety of foods that they might not otherwise, especially if they have planted and cared for the plants from a seedling. My wish it that gardening will carry over in their home lives and in future years as they grow. We will focus on fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are the food groups that students usually don't get enough of as they are expensive and some parents don't buy them due to the cost.

Questionnaires would be sent to parents asking about their children’s eating habits; likes and dislikes when it comes to fruits and vegetables. Also, we would like to know how many parents feel about their children’s nutrition; i.e. is it a concern, do they need more information about children’s nutritional needs, etc…?

Post questionnaires will be sent out to parents requesting feedback on how the garden has changed their child's mind about fruits and vegetables and hopefully the whole family’s attitude towards gardening and these food groups.

The goal of the program is to increase the students' intake of fruits and vegetables. Heighten the students' awareness of how important the fruits and vegetable food groups are to a healthy, growing body and encourage healthy eating. Also, have them participate in garden maintenance for light physical activity. Math and science teachers will incorporate the garden into their math and science standards. Positive Outcome: Since our project couldn't begin until spring 2010, we are just now beginning to plant the garden and we will be studying the seedlings throughout the vegetative process and are looking forward to tasting the majority of crops prior to school ending. Having said that, some of the harvest will be taking place during the summer through fall. We can freeze some of the garden goodies if needed. Some of the plants will not be ready until school resumes in August. The most positive outcome is getting the students involved from planting to harvest time, along with using the vegetables and fruits in student friendly ways to encourage them to try these food groups. All elementary students will have a hand in the garden one way or another. The entire school is excited to help!!

Challenges Faced: The most challenging part is the weather’s cooperation and maintaining the garden throughout the summer. We have several teachers willing to help and some students also will be involved. Number of Children Impacted: We are anticipating that 4th and 5th grade will be doing most of the tending to our garden. They have a total of 160 students, but all of the classes want to help out and observed the growing stages and harvesting. Our total student body K-5th is 444 students. Plan on taking lots of pictures to share on Web site. Measurement: With the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables, our hope is that our students will express to their parents about planting their own home gardens. Plus, the students will be willing to try the different fruits and vegetables we harvest. We sent our small questionnaire prior to beginning this project and the parents were very responsive to our program. Most of the comments were: We wish our kids ate more veggies and fruits and less junk/fast foods. Earth day was last week and our students learned about conservative of our earth and this program goes hand and hand with what they have been studying in class.

USD 259 Margaret Chisham, BSN, RN, NCSN Greiffenstein Special Education Center mchisham@usd259.net Wichita, KS 316-973-6404 Program Description: Our school is an alternative school primarily for students with behavior problems. We get students from all areas of Wichita and therefore not a neighborhood school. All of our students are bused to and from school. Also, we have students who exit and enter our program throughout the year. Our health and wellness committee along with our principal implemented a school wide walking program for both students and staff. The goal was to promote physical activity and healthier lifestyles. This include reducing cardiovascular risk factors, and improve student academic and social skills. There were a variety of ways people could walk-in the hallway, gym or outside. Classes were able to walk throughout the school day. Distances for students and staff were tallied and recorded in miles on a school-wide chart in the hallway. Data was kept on the individual students and as a class. Some classes may have walked a fourth of a mile and others one mile at a time. At certain mileage milestones awards/prizes were given. This was possible through the Healthy Habits for Life grant and community resources. Positive Outcome: The positive impacts were numerous. Many students improved their coordination and their walking gait. In addition, classroom behaviors decreased within the building. Many students were energized and ready to complete their assignments after walking. For some students it was a self-esteem builder, by providing a sense of accomplishment. School pride and attitude also improved, as well as encouraging other students/staff to keep walking!! Many students/staff indicated that the walking program led them to continue healthier habits (more exercise, healthier eating) at home, too. Most staff were enthusiastic, too! It helped them with weight, cardio, muscle tone, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar issues. Challenges Faced: The most challenging part for us was to keep track of the classes the students were in for the classroom data, since our students enter/exit throughout the year. Finding resources to fund our awards/prizes also is a challenge for our school, since we do not have a parent organization to help support us. Number of Children Impacted: The grant provided us the opportunity to expand our walking program this year! Our school has 54 staff, 69 students and 11 classes. We had 100% student participation. Every student walked at least one mile, including our newcomers. The data indicated that 60 students walked at least 20 miles. Also, 16 students made it to 50 miles, and six walked 75 miles. Our top three students walked 95, 91 and 80 miles, respectively. The total class walking range was from 123 miles to 554 miles. One class had 5/6 students walk at least 50 miles. Staff walking also improved!! There were 51 staff (94%) that walked at least one mile, too. Other information includes: 25 staff walked at least 30 miles, 12 walked 50 miles, and our top two staff walked 185 miles and 180 miles, respectively. As a school, students and staff, we walked a grand total of 4,220 miles!!!

Last year 96% of our students participated in the walking program and 77% of our staff. As a school, our combined walking total was 1,535 miles!!! Measurement: The nurse’s data indicated students that were monitored had normal weight gain, lower blood pressure and pulse. The students that were on medication with weight gain as a possible side effect, had minimal weight gain or maintained their weight! That is a noticeable improvement for our students.

USD 261 Wendy Lewis, RN Tri-City Day School wlewis@usd261.com Haysville, KS 316-554-2324 Program Description: a) Our school is a special education day school. Our students range from kindergarten to age 21 and have either

an emotional, mental and/or behavioral disorder. The majority come from low income families. Forty-six percent are in the free or reduced meal program, with 71% who regularly eat breakfast and lunch at school.

b) An afternoon Healthy Snack Program was put in place. Each child had the opportunity to choose from a variety of healthy snacks toward the end of the school day. Choices available were yogurt, cheese sticks, fruit cups, raisins, crackers, granola bars or rice cakes. All choices were low-fat, low or no-sugar, and/or whole grain.

c) Our goals include: i) Providing additional food for those students who may not eat anything between the time they leave

school in the afternoon to the time they return the next morning. Because of our small student population (maximum 35) we do not qualify for the Backpack Program.

ii) Having food available for students who have no money for lunch or forget their lunch at home. (Our current school lunch program no longer makes provisions for students who do not have any money in their meal account.)

iii) Reducing afterschool “junk food” eating. iv) Educating students about healthy food choices. v) Encouraging children to be more physically active.

d) Before kicking-off the snack program, a presentation was made by the school nurse to each classroom. This included an age appropriate food/nutrition video and classroom discussion regarding the video. Food Pyramid and Be Active posters and classroom materials were purchased and also discussed during the classroom presentations. A pre-test was given before the presentation and then gone over after viewing the video. Staff evaluated the presentations as well.

e) Additional handouts were acquired free from My Pyramid Team Nutrition (a division of the USDA). Topics addressed healthy food choices, serving sizes and the importance of being physically active every day. This information was also included in the classroom presentation. Parents then received tip sheets on the food pyramid and being a healthy role model.

f) A nutrition label exercise was presented during science class, by the science teacher, at a later date with a poster and materials provided by the school nurse.

g) Each Wednesday, during daily announcements, a “Wellness Wednesday” tip is presented by the school nurse, who took advantage of the opportunity on several occasions to focus the tip on healthy food choices and to promote physical activity.

h) A variety of small posters promoting healthy choices (food and physical activity), from My Pyramid Team Nutrition, were displayed in the lunchroom and changed bi-weekly.

Positive Outcome: The students slowly becoming aware of the choices that they are making. I repeatedly emphasized “baby steps.” For example, if they drink soda, rather than cutting it out completely, to gradually replace it with a healthier choice such as water. Some students who bring their lunch would tease me when they were eating lunch if, for instance, they had a bag of potato chips, about it not being a healthy choice. I took this as progress because before we started the program most were not even aware that it wasn’t a “healthy choice.” Alternately, students have also pointed out if they have a healthy food item in their lunch. Changing the eating habits of children is a daunting task, especially if the choices aren’t offered at home, but I like to think that by planting the seeds and giving students the opportunity to make some healthy choices at school, hopefully in the future, as they grow and mature into adults, they will make wiser choices. Challenges Faced: Each of our four classrooms was provided with a large plastic tub in which the non-perishable items were kept. Perishable items were kept in a small refrigerator in each classroom. The most challenging thing was inventory and restocking. I decided to do weekly inventory to keep track of what was being used and what was needed. What I encountered was that one classroom would use a lot of one item and another wouldn’t use very much and I ended up moving inventory around on a weekly basis. In the future I would have one location where the students or staff could come and get the snacks. It would greatly reduce the paperwork and time involvement on my part. Number of Children Impacted: The program was started the week of Jan. 11 and, as of this date April 12, we have had 33 students who participated. Measurement: Effectiveness of the program was to be measured by:

i) Pre-test before video presentation and discussion; post-test after to evaluate student knowledge level. (1) The pre-test was administered and then served as the “post-test” in that we discussed the answers to

the test after the video was viewed. Students did not turn the test in and graded it themselves. Based on their responses they did poorly on the pre-test and were surprised by a lot of the answers.

ii) Evaluation by teachers and aides of the classroom presentation. (1) Five staff members who were present during the presentations completed evaluations. Six questions

were asked. The ratings system was 1 = poor to 5 = excellent. All questions received either a 4 or 5 rating.

iii) The number of students who take advantage of the healthy food choices offered. (1) All students have participated in the program.

USD 263 Kendra Kanaga, RN Mulvane Grade School kkanaga@usd263.k12.ks.us Mulvane, KS 316-777-1981 Program Description: Our program was designed to encourage physical activity in the classroom and during indoor recess time.

Funds from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation were used to purchase two Nintendo Wii game systems for our grade school. These systems were purchased to be used during indoor recess time to promote physical activity. In addition to indoor recess time, we plan on using these games for reward activities and classroom parties. In previous years these activities consisted of board games and watching movies. With these game systems, our students will now be able to participate in structured physical activities in their classrooms. In addition to the Wii game systems, our physical education teacher begins the year with a cardiovascular unit designed to encourage the importance of physical activity. Our student also will participate in a walking program in which they receive incentives after the completion of each mile. Positive Outcome: Our program has not been implemented yet, but we plan to begin for the 2010-2011 school year. We will have a drawing at each quarter to determine which classes will have access to the Nintendo systems during indoor recess time and also for use during class parties. The most positive outcome I anticipate is the increased activity our students will experience. The students also will work together and teamwork will be encouraged. Challenges Faced: The most challenging part was the decision of what items to purchase. After looking into the purchase of stationary bikes and treadmills, we decided those items would limit the number of students that were able to participate. Number of Children Impacted: During the course of the school year, we are anticipating that all of our students will have the opportunity to participate in the use of the Nintendo Wii game systems. This includes a total of approximately 375 students. All students also will participate in the cardiovascular unit and walking program initiated in the physical education class room. Measurement: All students are tested after their cardiovascular unit and are able to locate and calculate their pulses accurately. We have not yet implemented our indoor recess activities, but plan to incorporate them at the start of next school year.

USD 266 Michelle Palmquist, RN Maize Middle School mpalmquist@usd266.com Maize, KS 316-350-2308 Program Description: The Healthy Habits for Life grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation was used again this year to purchase heart rate monitors for our middle school. Our hope was that we would be able to expand this program and begin using them in our 6th grade classes. Previously we only had 14 in PE classes up to 100 students. With our grant monies this year we purchased an additional 24 Bowflex heart rate monitors. We use them faithfully in our 7th and 8th grade physical fitness classes. The primary goal of this program is to promote healthy lifestyles by promoting physical activity. In our physical fitness classes this year our PE teachers are having students train for a 5K. The students use the heart rate monitors to help them figure out and stay within their target heart rate while exercising. After some training the students were able to effectively use the heart rate monitors. The students enjoyed wearing them. I think using heart rate monitors is very effective because it is so visual and they can check it frequently. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome was that students continued to take responsibility for their own health. It also held them be accountable as the numbers are visual and the teachers can check them. I hope to continue to add heart rate monitors to allow for more students to use them. Students were able to run farther because having a visual heart rate kept them at a steady pace. Challenges Faced: Our biggest challenge this year was that the Bowflex heart rate monitors were not reliable. I am currently attempting to return them and order a different brand. An additional challenge was not having enough for every student. The students like to wear them. Number of Children Impacted: Approximately 300 Measurement: A pre-assessment of knowledge about heart rates and the correlation between heart rate and cardiovascular health was done. A post-assessment also was done and students were able to identify their target heart rate and give examples of how it could impact their cardiovascular health.

USD 268 Jessa Albers & Jennifer Bartlett Cheney Elementary School jalbers@cheney268.com or jbartlett@cheney268.com Cheney, KS 316-542-3137, ext. 2804 Program Description: We are implementing activity backpacks for our students to take home. Each week three students will get to take home a backpack of their choosing that has a particular activity in it to help promote physical activity. Some examples are: backpacks with tennis balls/racquets, footballs/tees, basketball, chalk for four square/ball, etc. Each backpack has written instructions inside with ideas for different activities they can do with the equipment. There will be about 18 different activities to choose from. Students will get to take the backpack home on a Thursday and then return it to school the following Monday. We will have a sheet for them to log the amount of time they spent doing the activity and also a questionnaire asking if they liked the activity, what if any changes would they suggest, what they liked best, did it help them and their family be more active together. Positive Outcome: We are introducing this to the kids now and will be in full swing with the program in the fall. They are really excited to start using the backpacks and can't wait to check out the equipment. We are hoping that this will help encourage students and their families to get active and stay active. The goal is to help kids meet their 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Challenges Faced: The most challenging part was finding the time to get all the equipment purchased/ordered and making questionnaires for participants to fill out when they use the backpacks. Number of Children Impacted: 330 Measurement: We are having kids log the amount of time they spend doing the activity and hope to see an increase in the amount of time they are being physically active every day. The goal is that they will be getting 60 minutes of physical activity at least 5 days a week. Since we are just introducing the backpacks we have not been able to determine if this is the case but hope to have that data in the fall once we are in full swing.

USD 284 Erica Grayson, RN, BSN Chase County Elementary School graysone@usd284.org Cottonwood Falls, KS 620-273-6676 Program Description: This year we used grant funds to update our elementary school physical education curriculum by purchasing the SPARK PE program. Currently we are a K-4th grade building, but that will be changing at the end of the year. We purchased curriculum materials for K-6th grade. This will be very helpful next year when we become a K-6th grade building at a different site. The elementary school PE teacher and I have used some of the different games and materials throughout the year with our K-4th grade students.

At present our 5th-8th grade building we have 146 students. We used grant funds to purchase several stability balls and how-to materials. The students have loved the stability ball activities. This is something that our 5th –8th grade PE teacher has wanted to do for a long time, but did not have enough balls so that all students in a class could participate. This program has given some of our students a much-needed boost in their perceptions of their personal ability to be physically active. The non-threatening use of these balls has probably been the best thing about this opportunity. Our students are exercising, they are having fun, and they don’t have to be the perfect athlete. This new program will continue next year but probably only with our 7th –12th grade students since our district is consolidating locations and the balls will be moved from our middle school location to our high school. Student have told me the “ball” days follow close behind our annual two-week skating time and dodge ball Fridays as favorite activities of the year. Positive Outcome: The activities are fun for the students, as well as easy to follow for the adults. Our PE teacher was quite impressed that the materials were well put together and could easily be made into a yearlong plan. She plans to continue to implement this curriculum. The students enjoyed the activities as well as the CDs that were included in the package. Several students talked about the new games they were learning in PE this year. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of using this curriculum was to implement it in our current standards, which are slightly out of date. But this program also has been instrumental in making the powers that be realize we need to update our PE/health curriculum. Number of Children Impacted: We currently have 151 students.

USD 293 Esther Thieler Quinter Elementary ethielen@ruraltel.net Quinter, KS 785-754-3741 Program Description: Our program consisted of four separate entities:

Body Venture, provided by Child Nutrition & Wellness, KSDE came to our school March 30 to educate 127 students, kindergarten through 6th grade on body systems, nutrition, physical exercise, wellness and drug prevention.

Power Panther Pals program is being implemented this last quarter of the year to 34 students, grades 5-6. This program focuses on nutrition education and healthful food choices through hands-on activities and classroom lessons.

Healthful snacks were purchased during standardized testing for motivation/reward as well as education regarding healthy snack choices. Snacks were distributed to 127 students in kindergarten through 6th grade each day of testing.

Playground equipment in excellent condition has been donated to Quinter Elementary School for installation on the playground used by 78 students, grades 3rd through 6th during the school day and numerous others when school is not in session. The grant helped fund the purchase of additional items for installation and safety.

Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program is increased awareness of the benefits of healthy food choices and increased physical activity. The children are making more healthful choices during school lunches and are more physically active with the new playground equipment. Challenges Faced:

Body Venture – The extra time and physical labor endured by staff to set up the Body Venture exhibit!!! Whew!

Power Panther Pals – Finding varieties of fruits and vegetables in a small town grocery store!

Healthful Snacks – Organizing the ordering and delivering of snacks.

Installation of playground equipment – Working with inclement weather during the winter of 2009-2010.

Measurement: Body Venture – Students completed an evaluation regarding knowledge gained and the value of the

experience. Results of the evaluation show 100% approval with the brain and the mouth being the favorite sections. One hundred percent of the teachers felt their students enjoyed the exhibit and felt it was a worthwhile learning experience for all.

Healthful snacks – Snacks were selected by students from a list of healthy choices provided by the school

nurse. They were used as motivation/reward for students to do their best on standardized tests. The students and staff felt like it made the testing experience more positive and enjoyable. Ninety-six percent of QES students scored proficient and above on Reading Assessments – an increase from last year’s 94%. Eighty-eight percent of QES students scored proficient and above on Math Assessments – an increase from last year’s 83%!!!!

Installation of playground equipment – According to teacher survey the newly installed equipment is being

used 100% of recess time. No injuries have occurred.

USD 306 Sandra Rogers, RN, BSN Southeast of Saline srogers@usd306.k12.ks.us Gypsum, KS 785-536-7012 Program Description: Southeast of Saline began a Wii in PE program this year that was designed to bring a different way to move in three areas of the class. Those areas are warm-up, cool down and main focus activity.

One of the main thoughts during the thinking phase was the class would mimic two or four students that were actually using the remotes for a game or activity. All activity would be recorded on a disk or mini disk. This would allow for evaluation of each student’s progress as the year/semester progresses. The students in the background would be scored as the instructor walked through the group during the activity.

We also hoped the Wii format would bring students that hesitate to participate in class to be more active through the games and lack of others focusing on them. Those who are less coordinated or comfortable with their bodies and actions could do what everyone does without everyone watching and judging.

Warm-up and cool down activities would be dance, some sports and quick movement games. The main focus activities would be longer game play or games you could switch controllers while the game is in play. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome would have to be the excited play of the kids. Challenges Faced: Organizing was a challenge initially, but the connecting of the equipment also proved a challenge. Number of Children Impacted: We have only used this with the middle school classes – 63 students. That number will go to approximately 120 next year. Measurement: One of the measurements was teacher observation. There is no doubt the students are engaged as they play. The increased motion and fun while playing would tend to insure metabolic activity.

USD 308 Lori Rayl Hutchinson High School rayll@usd308.com Hutchinson, KS 620-615-4122 Program Description: The goal of the Think SHRINK program is to engage those students who are in need of group support and activity for fitness purposes but do not join the more formal school sports activities. Think SHRINK was originated by several Hutchinson High School staff members during the 2007-2008 school year. The concept was formulated and ultimately more than 50 students participated in the program that began on the first day of the second trimester and ran for 16 weeks—up to Spring Break. Students were provided with a T-shirt, a pedometer, a record book, and a nylon bag to hold healthy snacks and walking shoes. Team members met on the upper deck of the school gym to engage in supervised walking before school, during lunch, during seminar and after school. Participants were coached in nutrition, self-image, exercise, drinking water versus other choices, and tracked individual progress. At the end of the 16 weeks, the team with the highest percentage of weight loss was awarded. An individual prize was also awarded and the winner lost 10% of her body weight!

During the 2008-2009 year, the program was altered slightly to include incremental prizes for activities not necessarily measured by weight loss but by healthy behavior such as keeping a journal, exercising, etc. Also, a kick-off meeting was held in the gym where participants visited several “stations” designed to educate the participants. Students made a stop at a station where the school nurse measured bpi, weight, height and also took a “before” photograph. Another station included a student teacher helping the students use an interactive nutrition Web site. A PE teacher demonstrated and students experimented with core ball exercises; one station included fat percentage measurements and finally a station with a teacher talking about how to use the record books and sharing a personal success story. Another change was to reduce the length of the program to 12 weeks to coincide with the middle trimester at Hutchinson High School.

For this year (2009-2010) changes to the program were made so that students met during weekly seminar periods when other clubs meet. Presentations were made covering topics such as nutrition, exercise, benefits of drinking water, helpful Internet sites, self-worth issues, and others. Also we were excited to contract with a Zumba instructor to provide weekly classes for Think SHRINK participants. Everyone enjoyed the upbeat, group exercise opportunity! Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program is watching the participants evolve and begin to make healthier choices. It becomes apparent that many do not have positive role models at home to watch and learn from. Hopefully there will be a “pay it forward” situation as these students get older and pass along their knowledge to their own families. Challenges Faced: Keeping the participants motivated is the most challenging aspect of administering the program.

Number of Children Impacted: We had 30 students actively involved this year. Also, we had more special needs teens involved which was rewarding. Measurement: One of the measurement strategies in place was that the participant journals will be reviewed by staff. Students realized the value of keeping a record of their healthy choices and found they were more accountable when making note of nutrition, exercise, water intake and thoughts. When staff reviewed their journals and were able to encourage them, they were so proud!

USD 325 Joyce Morgan, RN Phillipsburg Elementary School jmorgan@usd325.com Phillipsburg, KS 785-543-2174 Program Description: Exercise daily the 15 minutes before school starts from 7:45 to 8 a.m. We started when school resumed from Christmas break. Prior to this, the kids who came early in the mornings had to just sit in the gym and read or do something quietly if they weren’t going to breakfast. Now we are either exercising in the gym or walking on the playground during that time. We are doing one healthy snack a month, as well as nutrition education, along with that snack. It includes the entire elementary school. Most of the time the snacks are incorporated into their PE time, so we do a little more teaching then about the importance of exercise. When we do heights and weights we talk a little more about how the healthy food helps them to grow strong and taller and develop muscles rather than fat. We also discuss the effects of good nutrition and exercise on the body and our sense of well-being and self-esteem. We are hoping to see a reduction in the percentage of kids who are overweight or at risk of being overweight according to their BMI. We would like to make a small healthy snacks recipe book to hand out to parents next fall. We want to encourage them to send healthy snacks for treats instead of all the cookies, cakes and sweets. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program so far is the way the kids have reacted. They are excited about the exercise in the mornings, especially when we go outside. They like the snacks. They will see me coming down the hall with a snack or just ingredients, and they will say, “Oh, yeah! Healthy food! Do we get that today?” We hope, in the end, the most positive outcome will be healthier kids. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of administering this program was finding the time to interact with the kids without disrupting other classes. Also, finding the time to prepare that many snacks was difficult. Food preparation for that many kids can be very time consuming. Number of Children Impacted: There were 250 children included in this program. Measurement: We will be doing heights and weights and figuring BMIs in early May. I did ask teachers if the could see a difference in the kids’ behavior with the morning exercise. It was about half and half. Some didn’t notice any difference and some thought the kids were more ready to settle down and learn and seemed more alert. They all said the kids love the snacks and all seem to be more aware of what is healthy and what is not. They know more about things like whole grains and healthy choices.

USD 333 Jayme Peterson, RN Concordia Elementary/Concordia Middle Schools jpeterson@usd333.com Concordia, KS 785-243-8853 Program Description: During the day, physical activity has had to be drastically reduced in order to meet various state requirements of educators and classroom time. It is important to maximize the time that is, or can be found for physical activities. We have tried to provide our students with more time and opportunities that they will find to be fun and that will appeal to our students, of various ages and abilities. To accomplish this, our staff has used the Nintendo Wii system for classroom, after-school programs, class rewards and morning assemblies. Students in K-6th grades are given a chance to participate in Wii Sports and dance games. The video format appealed to a broad range of students with varying abilities, and even those who aren't normally active. The Wii has been the most successful physical activity we have implemented in our district that also reduced cardiovascular disease and that will teach lifetime skills. Positive Outcome: Our most positive aspect of this program was seeing all the students and teachers so excited about participating together and having fun in the process. Students were asking to use the Wii on inclement weather days, and wanting to stay in PE class at the end of the class period. Teachers are coming to PE classes with their students and participating with them. Our favorite game and most requested game by the students is the Just Dance game. Our Wii system has also been used at our elementary school for daily morning assemblies, to get everyone 'geared up' for the day.

Teachers have requested more equipment and games they would like to have for our Wii system. Number of Children Impacted: This program has impacted 440 elementary school and 151 middle school students, plus our teachers and paras that are participating with their classroom students. Measurement: The success of this program has been measured by our large numbers of participants, and the interaction of our staff and students of various abilities and ages. Our students are learning to be more active in ways they have not done before. One PE teacher told me that “students who never sweat in class are sweating.” Students are approaching me at school, as well as in the public, to thank me for getting the Wii system for them to use.

USD 335 Valerie Olberding, RN Jackson Heights Middle/High School valerie.olberding@jhcobras.net Holton, KS 785-364-2195 Program Description: Through our program, Beat by Beat, we asked Jackson Heights middle and High School students to take the concept of good health to heart … literally. Our school nurse and physical education instructor teamed up to promote various activities that help students elevate their heart rate and learn more about the cardiovascular system. One project was to create portable fitness packs that students, as well as staff, could check out and take home to share with their families. Each fitness pack included a jump rope, ankle weights or dumbbells, resistance bands, pedometers and a sample workout schedule. The packs are available from the nurse’s office. So far, both staff and students have checked out the packs for up to a week at a time. Upon request, we’ve shared some of the fitness packs with grade school students who wanted to benefit from this health promotion. In addition, our program aimed to teach students the difference between a target heart rate and a healthy resting heart rate. To help with this, we purchased several heart rate monitor batons. Students simply have to grab the hand-held baton to get a reading. They recorded their heart rate before exercise (jump roping, running), during and after. Positive Outcome: At Jackson Heights, we continue to stress that heart health should be habit-forming and not something students just think about in fitness class. Therefore, the most positive outcome was generating interest among the students about exercising regularly and boosting their heart rate, even away from the school gym. This concept is being carried over to their peers. It was noted that even students who aren’t enrolled in a fitness class have been utilizing the school’s weight room lately. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of the program is monitoring students’ physical activity away from school. Staff can do lots of encouraging, plus provide fun take-home equipment, but without a regular recording process, accurate monitoring of exercise is difficult to track.

Our goal of partnering the upper level PE class with the anatomy and physiology class to discuss muscle tone, injury prevention and endurance should be reached soon. Number of Children Impacted: 132 students in 7th-12th grades Measurement: The school nurse is able to chart usage of the fitness packs through her sign-out sheet. She also verbally asks the users what they liked best about the pack’s contents. In fitness classes, students were asked to chart their heart rate before jumping rope and running. They also marked the rate during exercise to focus on keeping the heart rate up for an extended period of time. And finally, they discussed the importance of a healthy resting heart rate.

USD 345 Claudia Welch and Nancy Ellison, RN Seaman High School cwelch@usd345.com or nellison@usd345.com Topeka, KS 785-286-8300 Program Description: Aggressive but child- and family-friendly, ‘Fuel Up to Play’ is the title of our District Community Wellness program which is designed by Seaman district health council members, physical education teachers, health services staff, and nutrition professionals using the best available evidence. Its strategy is multi-faceted, addressing education, behavior, nutrition and exercise. Fuel Up to Play! focuses on the following priorities: • Reconstituted and structured after school program for students (the grant provided the needed resources to

purchase - nutritional snacks). • A new and enhanced Five 4 Life elementary & secondary school health and physical education curriculum

with circuit training (district physical education teachers participated in a one day professional development Five 4 Life training).

• An improved cafeteria menu featuring more fruit and vegetable choices, and ‘marketed’ to the students through sampling and tasting (fresh fruit is now offered everyday at breakfast and during lunch).

• District Community Wellness Nights in February, March and April for district students, staff and community members that instill healthy eating and activity habits (the grant provided the needed resources to purchase - two blood pressure cuffs and healthy snacks for taste testing at the Wellness Nights).

• A new high school health curriculum that teaches nutrition and exercise lifestyles in a fun and entertaining context (Advanced Five 4 Life program will be integrated into the secondary health curriculum 2010-11).

• A commitment to thoroughly analyze the results of these interventions, using FitnessGram and academic measures (pre-test was administered in January and the post test will be given in May).

Program Goals: • Promote healthy lifestyles in the home, school, and community • Promote family involvement in the school • Emphasize the connection between healthy lifestyles and student achievement • Engage a diverse group of family and community members

Fuel Up to Play! most important asset is the Seaman school district staff. They are motivated, enthusiastic, and committed to the changes in their schools. Their school system enjoys great support from their families and community. Most importantly, Seaman is dedicated to improving its students’ health and futures. Positive Outcome: For students who stayed for ASAP or math lab the only reward was getting homework done correctly with the aid of a teacher. Now, students who stay afterschool for help have more perks. With the support from the Healthy Habits for Life grant, students can expect healthy snacks to fill their appetite while staying busy with their studies.

Challenges Faced: Our first challenge was predicting the number of students that would be attending the after-school programs and how to provide their teachers with enough healthy snacks. After meeting with the after-school program staff, administrators, food service director, and a week of trial and error our program is running much better. The program now has a freshman center teacher and a high school teacher that we supply with the healthy snacks and they give them out to the other after-school program teachers. When their healthy snack supply runs lower we order in a new variety of snacks from our food service director because our next problem was storage. Number of Children Impacted: The Healthy Habits for Life Grant has provided 928 Seaman High School students with healthy after school snacks. Measurement: Physical education teachers, health services staff and nutrition professionals will present information on nutrition and fitness to Seaman District students and special needs students (1,153 students).

Health Service staff and Physical education teachers will document student fitness data using the FitnessGram program (pre-tested 710 students in January and will post test in May).

Classroom teachers and food service director of the high school after-school program will document number of students consuming the nutritional snacks (928 students).

Health services staff will provide students, staff and community members with health information and blood pressure checks (97 Students, seven staff members that are checked on a regular basis, and 100 community members were provided with health info and BP checks at the District Wellness Nights in February and March).

The Seaman District Health Council, along with parents, teachers and community organizations, will sponsor a monthly Healthy School and Community Wellness Activity Night to promote physical activity, distribute nutrition information and health risk information.

District Community Wellness Nights: February March April 20 Attendance 370 538 Pending Exercise time 610 hrs 868 hrs Pedometers checked out 93 87 Pedometer steps 323,621 305,615 Health information given out 467 623

USD 349 Lisa Cornwell, RN Stafford Elementary lcornwell@stafford349.com Stafford, KS 620-234-5255, ext. 153 Program Description: USD 349 implemented a bike education program. Bike education was a timely issue in Stafford this year. One student was hit on a bicycle in the neighboring community of St. John on his way to school and was in the hospital for an extended period of time. A community member in Stafford was killed due to a bike/car accident during the school year. Children and adults agree bike safety is an important topic!

The school nurse did a bike safety presentation during health classes. The jello mold brain simulation was a big hit with the students! The bike presentation stressed how bike riding is a good physical activity for students. Bike riding is a healthy habit that can be done most of your life. We talked about calories burned and different ways people use bike riding as kids/adults. (Bike Across Kansas, community bike rides, community bike clubs, transportation to and from school, college or work) This was followed by a presentation from the local police department on bike rules, bike safety, and bike registration in Stafford.

A family night was held. At the event parents learned bike safety rules, bike inspection was completed by the local police department, and all students received new bike helmets fitted for their heads. Family bike riding was suggested as a great family activity. A family bike ride is being planned in the fall as part of Oktoberfest. This activity was announced; parents should be looking for information on the event at enrollment in the fall. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program is seeing students wear their bike helmets not only to school but also around town after school hours. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of the program was finding time to measure students heads to order the helmets during the school day. We ended up taking a little of their physical education time for measurement. Number of Children Impacted: 106 Measurement: Before the bike presentation 16% of students riding their bikes to school wore bike helmets.

One day after the end of the bike education 100% of students riding their bikes to school wore their bike helmets.

One week after the end of the bike education 96% of students wore their bike helmets to school.

There were 103 participants in family bike night.

USD 354 Jane Steinert, RN Claflin Elementary School jsteinert@claflinschools.org Claflin, KS 620-587-3896 Program Description: Two instructors came to our elementary school Feb. 4 from the Kansas Learning Center for Health located in Halstead to present their outreach health education program, “On The Road.” Two segments were presented to pre-K through 6th grade students: pre-K through 2nd participated in The Inside Story and Sensible Habits (healthy food choices, exercise and cleanliness). The 3rd and 4th grades did hands on activities in Fueling My Body and Be Smart, Don't Start (good snacks, nutrition labels, and effects of smoking on the body). The 5th and 6th grades programs were Your Choice – It's Up To You (effects of tobacco, alcohol and drugs on the body) and Body Blueprint (heredity and genetics). Our 5th grade students took a field trip to The Learning Center at Halstead as part of their study of the body systems.

To reinforce nutrition information and healthy food choices, students in grades 3rd through 6th, were provided with a variety of healthy snacks during their standardized assessment testing in March and April. Food groups and nutrients were reviewed. Pre-K through 2nd grade students (who are not part of the testing) also were provided with healthy snacks and included in discussion of healthy food choices.

Several exercise/music DVDs were purchased for the different grade levels to energize students and provide opportunities for physical activity when recess is limited to the classrooms due to the weather. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome was in providing students with the tools they need to make choices for healthy future. Our students now realize that being healthy feels good and can be great fun! Challenges Faced: The biggest challenge has been in coordinating a variety of snacks for the classes (a total of 26 different times) that worked best for each group for each day of their state assessments. Number of Children Impacted: Ninety-five students participated in the “On The Road” program. Sixty-two students were provided with healthy snacks at their assessment testing times. The other 33 students also were given snacks and reviewed healthy food choices. Measurement: Following each program of the Learning Center, teachers evaluated the content, instructor knowledge, curriculum requirements and student involvement. The 5th graders were given pre- and post-tests at their visit to the Kansas Learning Center for Health.

USD 358 Dixie Simpson, BAN, RN, MICT Oxford Elementary dixie.simpson@usd358.com Oxford, KS 620-455-2410 Program Description: We have been doing several small activities.

Our “Fit Fridays” are continuing, weather permitting. As a reward for the winners of “Jump Rope for Heart,” we bought Subway sandwiches instead of pizza. A group of students from Southwestern College presented a taste-testing booth at the Health Fair March

31. They had six vegetables and six fruits for tasting. The students then picked the one they liked the best from each category. This was tracked on a chart.

Positive Outcome: The taste-testing at the Health Fair allowed a large number of students to taste different fruits and vegetables that they may not be exposed to home. It also allowed them to visualize the variety of fruits and vegetables available. Challenges Faced: The challenge was how much to purchase. We ended up with a lot of food left over. Looking back we could have cut larger pieces. It also was a challenge to document the students’ choices as many students were milling around the gym during our Health Fair. Number of Children Impacted: The Health Fair was for the entire school, pre-K – 12th, and the community. The number of students is approximately 310. Measurement: We have recorded BMIs on the students in pre-K – 9th. We will be re-assessing the BMIs to track growth. We are working on a plan to convey the information to parents with information they can use on their child during the summer.

USD 373 Karen Lehman, RN, MSN Newton High School klehman@newton.k12.ks.us Newton, KS 316-284-6280, ext. 2235 Program Description: We added the option of using Nintendo Wii Sports and Wii Fit to our SET (Seminar Exercise Time) program. We also opened the option of checking out the Wii to all classes in the building. Positive Outcome: Most students in the building know what the Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit are, however not all students have access. Many students ask multiple times “do we get to use the Wii today” when we have SET. The most positive outcome is to observe students of various skill levels and backgrounds come together to “compete” playing Wii Sports. Challenges Faced: Teaching all the people who check out the system how to use it. Making sure everything is charged and ready to go for the next group and troubleshooting any problems. Number of Children Impacted: The whole building (approximately 1,000 students) had access to the Wii. Nine different classes checked the systems out. SET averaged 50 students per session and there are 2 sessions. At minimum that is 280 students. Measurement: One of the criteria of success was if the systems were used. The systems were used by a wide variety of classes with a wide range of students in them. Our adaptive PE used the Wii regularly as did our PE IV class, which are mostly seniors. Those are definitely two ends of the spectrum, and verify the diversity of population that the program touches.

USD 373 Donna Eigsti, RN South Breeze Elementary School deigsti@newton.k12.ks.us Newton, KS 316-284-6560 Program Description: We implemented a new unit into our physical education curriculum called Wii Fitness. Students love video games and this gave them an opportunity to play video games while getting aspects of fitness at the same time. Our primary goal was to provide a fun fitness activity. The Wii Fitness unit also was implemented in the adapted PE classes forh students with disabilities. Another goal was to use the Wii Fitness unit as an activity for our Circle of Friends program. Circle of Friends is a social mentoring program that pairs a child with a disability with one or two typically developing peers to participate in social activities. Classroom teachers have benefited from our Wii equipment by implementing “brain breaks” in the classroom and allowing the students to play Wii games during recess on rainy days. During PE class the students rotated through stations allowing them to participate using the programs Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, Just Dance and an Olympics program. Positive Outcome: The participation level was great. Students were in constant motion, excited, and working up a sweat without realizing the fitness value they were receiving. Students who do not have video games at home had the fun of trying them out. Challenges Faced: The initial set up and working out the kinks was tricky. We had to borrow TVs and projectors to get enough stations going to keep all students active at the same time. Number of Children Impacted: The elementary PE teachers collaborated and decided to rotate our Wii equipment through four of the elementary schools. This allowed a total of 1,127 students in the general PE classes to participate. There was an additional 45 students in the adapted PE classes that also participated. Measurement: Pre and pPost fitness scores in the fall and spring will be compared. The students were surveyed to evaluate their satisfaction with the Wii Fitness unit and asked whether they thought it was a good fitness activity. The students overwhelmingly enjoyed the unit and agreed that they received a good workout while playing. The students asked if the Wii unit could be added to the choice of activities on “free choice” days. The flip cameras were used to make short video clips of students participating in the Wii Fitness unit. These short video clips were shown to some of the parents of the students with disabilities. The parents were amazed how much their children were participating and moving. Some of the parents were considering purchasing the Wii to use at home.

USD 376 Kristi Wilson Sterling Grade School wilsonk@usd376.com Sterling, KS 620-278-3112 Program Description: The school nurse and the physical education teacher partnered to run the Growing Healthy Habits program. The grant funding allowed the program to expand the previously funded Healthy Minutes/Healthy Life program from the 2008-2009 school year. We wanted to address nutrition education, healthy eating habits, sunburn prevention, dental health and promote physical activity. During set weeks during the year we focused on different subjects. So during a week at the beginning of each physical education class there was a time for “Healthy Minutes.” The goal is to teach healthy habits in short to the point lessons (10 minutes) and then follow it up with a physical game that relates. For instance in January the focus was on nutrition. For nutrition we discussed food groups and the My Pyramid and then played a game with fruit and veggie beanbags. The children had to match food to groups in order to advance in the game.

Another week we discussed the dangers of sunburns and how to protect our skin. Then the younger kids played a game called Sunny Says, this is played like Simon Says put with sayings like "sunny says put on your sunscreen," "Sunny says put on a hat," etc. To emphasize the point, we used a 3-dimensional display that shows the damage the sun does to your skin. The older kids also used a Frisbee that changes color when exposed to UV rays to learn about the damage too much sun can do. We used available resources from the EPA's Sun Wise Kid program for ideas.

A favorite of the children was a game we purchased called Fat Attack. So after discussing healthy snacks they could play this game. The fatty foods are "it." The kids wear pennants with a picture of a food on the front and a nutrition label on the back. Kids who are not fatty foods just wear plain vests. If the fatty food gets you, you have to pick up fat (yellow balls) and add them to your vest. The only way to lose the fat is to exercise. So you would have to do a certain number of jumping jacks to lose the fat.

The ideas we taught were reinforced on our Healthy Minutes bulletin board. Things were added and changed on the board to reinforce our topic. For instance when we were talking about dental heath the bear (our school mascot) got a big toothy grin, a tooth brush and some floss.

To reinforce ideas further the Kansas Learning Center for Health came and presented the “On the Road” program. This program provided each grade a different lesson focusing on healthy habits and nutrition. Students and teachers enjoyed the hands-on learning and information students can take home to their families. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome we have seen is that the children are excited for the Healthy Minutes and that it really is bringing together a broad group of people to teach the children: the school nurse, the PE teacher and the head cook. We have reinforced ideas in many areas and not just in the traditional classroom. Sterling has been a recipient of the USDA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables grant for two years. What a better way to reinforce nutrition and healthy choices we discuss in Healthy Minutes, than to provide a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. To see kids excited about fresh bell peppers for a snack is wonderful.

Challenges Faced: The biggest challenge is to teach a broad range of children (5-12 years). A lesson and game that is fun for kindergarten needs to be really adapted to fit the 6th grade. The additional hands-on items we were able to purchase through the grant have helped with this. Number of Children Impacted: This program was for all of the children in the grade school, approximately 250 children. Measurement: We measured in a few different ways. We measured casually by asking kids questions about their lunches. What has the most sugar, the most fat, builds strong bones, etc.? An official measurement was done by giving pre-tests before the Healthy Minutes involving sunburn and then a post-test. The average on the pre-test was 60%, with many of the children getting the question “Can you get a sunburn on cloudy days or in the winter?” incorrect. After the Healthy Minutes the average post-test score was 85%. One of the questions we asked was a little tricky: “When you go out in the sun, your sunscreen should be at least what SPF or Sun Protection Factor?” The correct answer was 15, but 30 would offer more protection. The question pertained to the lowest SPF that one should wear. It was a tricky question, something we will need to continue to watch in the future.

USD 380 Suzy Parthemer, RN Frankfort Schools parthemers@usd380.com Frankfort, KS 785-292-4486 Program Description: Thanks to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation grant USD 380 purchased a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste for all the grade school students. We conducted a pre and post dental assembly survey for K-6th grade asking: how many times a day they brush their teeth, how many servings of fruit and vegetables they eat daily; and if they drink pop and eat candy almost daily. The assembly included a slide show prepared by Jill Gray, DDS; we displayed hands-on items from her office on proper brushing and flossing technique. The students were issued a take home calendar to record their daily brushing and flossing. The reverse side included a message to the parents about oral health with photos of brushing and flossing techniques.

Discussion included: servings of fruits and vegetables, grains, milk and water as recommended on the food pyramid; limiting sugar, candy, sodas and sports drinks; visiting the dentist for exams and x-rays, plaque and cavities, pain and disease prevention.

A presentation and explanation of the Crest Cavity prevention Eggsperiment revealed the effects of acid and fluoride protection showing the importance of keeping teeth strong, healthy and protected from acid attack.

Students participated in an interactive physical game incorporating this information. Positive Outcome: The student’s enthusiasm r/t participation, sharing tooth paste and information with their family. Improved health statistics on the survey. Providing tooth brush and paste to students who did not have any available to them at home. Challenges Faced: Collecting reliable individual statistics from the students. Number of Children Impacted: Approximately 263 Measurement: One example: Students who brush their teeth two times a day.

Number/grade Pre survey Post survey 42 K 18 24 41 1st 17 27 42 2nd 29 29 35 3rd 22 26

Number/grade Pre survey Post survey 39 4th 21 28 41 5th 7 27 18 6th 14 17

USD 387 Judy Sims, RN Altoona-Midway jsims@twinmounds.com Altoona, KS 620-378-4455 Program Description: The Healthy Habits for Life grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation enabled the students of USD 387 to participate in a program that we could have never even considered purchasing due to lack of funds. With this money, we were able to purchase the Geo-Motion fitness program. This is a new exercise program designed to simplify instruction and participation in a private or group exercise program with progressive teaching strategies implemented on the GeoMat. The most incredible feature of Geo-Motion is that one can workout at a high intensity but at a lower impact, thus less stress to joints due to the cushion of the mat. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome for our students is the increase in cardiovascular activity in using this equipment without the students’ realization of the benefits taking place. It was noticeably observed that the ease of learning and mastering the steps brought much confidence and joy to each student, in the area of dance in particular. This program provides many fun activities in which our students wanted to do this program every day! We even have teachers interested in setting up a time when they could use the program. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect was the class sizes were greater that the number of GeoMats purchased. The mats are also large and very heavy to manipulate and storage presents a problem. Number of Children Impacted: By the end of the unit, all 145 elementary and middle school students will have used this program as a unit and then also periodically as desired by the students. Measurement: We pre-test physical fitness components in the beginning of the school term. We also post-test the physical fitness components at the end of the school term. These tests measure height, weight, endurance, flexibility, agility, coordination, speed, upper body strength and endurance, lower body strength and endurance, and abdominal strength and endurance. A verbal questioning of the students very much indicated, positively, the enjoyment and desire to participate in the Geo-Motion program.

USD 420 Kristi Gantenbein Osage City Elementary School kgantenbein@usd420.org Osage City, KS 785-528-3171 Program Description: At Osage City Elementary School, we implemented an alternative to PE class by purchasing two Wii systems as well as Dance, Dance Revolution game. It is meant to be used for free-day in PE. While it has not been used in PE class yet, the teacher has learned the game and is prepared to implement when time allows. The elementary PE teacher plans to implement towards the end of the school year once Field Day has passed. However, it was used during a reward time for those 1st-5th grade student's exhibiting hard work and respect in school. They played Wii bowling and thought it was a great reward! Positive Outcome: It will be nice to see the response from the kids as the programs are used more. I think kids will enjoy it and use it as a learning experience that not all exercise has to be work. When the students did use it, they enjoyed it and thought it was a nice reward. We had them bowling together, so they exhibited teamwork. Challenges Faced: Time. The PE teacher already had her school year planned out when we received the grant. It was hard to rearrange much to fit in anything extra during the 2nd semester. Number of Children Impacted: It has the possibility to impact a total of 280 children; total of 3rd-5th grade is 149. Measurement: I indicated that all 3rd-5th grade students should have the opportunity to use equipment in the 2nd semester. I still think that this is a possibility, but has not been reached yet. However, some of these students used it during the hard work and respective incentive. I foresee it being used before the end of school.

USD 431 Stacy Dolechek, RN, BSN Hoisington Middle School sdolechek@usd431.net Hoisington, KS 620-653-4951 Program Description: By purchasing GEO mats the Hoisington Middle School students have learned the importance of incorporating daily exercise into their lifestyles while reducing cardiovascular risk factors. The students also have incorporated across the curriculum by using math, social studies, music, and physical activity. Last year was our first time to apply for this grant and it was a huge success for us. One hundred percent of our staff and students participated in our field day that was a huge success physically and mentally for our 5th and 6th grade students. Positive Outcome: We had our field day again this year as it was a huge success. It consisted of physical activity as well as team building to build self-esteem and learn the importance of having fun through physical activity. We provided each student with a healthy snack and drink as well as a fun-filled day of active participation.

We have moved our 5th grade to our middle school and we feel that since there are no sports for these students to participate in that the field day for the 5th and 6th grade has been very beneficial to the students to teach them how much fun being active can be. It also gives them a chance to incorporate learning how to get reduce risk factors by getting some physical activity, as well as learning how to socially get along with others.

All 5th and 6th grade students can socially interact with each other while exercising. All 5th through 8th grade students have learned the importance of understanding their directions as well as

incorporating across the curriculum learning into their fitness routine. All 5th and 6th grade students have incorporated physical activity into their day by participating in a field

day. Number of Children Impacted: Specific target population: 5th and 6th grade boys and girls. 5th Boys: 20 5th Girls: 24 6th Boys: 15 6th Girls: 19 Measurement: The program was measured by the following components:

1. Health Awareness Night – Students taught the public how to use the Geo mats. 2. Social skills of working together at the field day. 3. Participation count in the field day.

USD 434 Jeanette Lewis, RN, BSN Santa Fe Trail High School jlewis@usd434.us Carbondale, KS 785-836-7656 Program Description: We targeted our high school students in grades 9-12 who have special needs. These students were unable to participate successfully in regular PE classes due to physical and/or mental limitations. The students had received adaptive PE classes, but there had been a lack of consistency in the program as well as a lack of appropriate exercise space for these students during the school day. Our goal was to promote physical activity and a healthy weight while improving heart health, balance and stamina for this student population. We wanted to accomplish this goal by utilizing a Nintendo Wii gaming console, a Wii Fit Board, heart monitors as well as some of the games that encourage physical fitness. Some of these games included “Wii Fit”, “Wii Sports”, “Wii Sports Resort”, “Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout”, and “My Fitness Coach”. Through the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Grant that we received we were able to purchase the above equipment and games along with other accessories including heart rate monitors. The classroom teacher set up and familiarized himself with the equipment. The equipment was kept and used in the classroom, which was a major benefit since classroom/gymnasium space was at a premium. The students began learning the system at the beginning of second semester. A lot of excitement was generated throughout the entire school about the gaming system being used in the adaptive PE class. It actually created increased interaction among our special education students and our non-special education population. Our special needs students were shown how to use the equipment and became excited about PE. In the past, some of the students were reluctant to participate in PE. The classroom teacher and the physical therapist for the district evaluated the safety of the system for each of the students involved. We were particularly concerned about some of the students using the balance board and maintaining stability. The physical therapist and the classroom teacher set up a system where they can use a gait belt while a student is on the Wii Fit board to help maintain student balance and stability and as a safety measure.

Measurement of the program was to be provided by each student maintaining a record of weight, BMI, balance and scoring on the specific games played as well as increasing levels of difficulty of the games. We had planned on the students developing spread sheets in Excel to help maintain the data that we were evaluating. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Nintendo Wii system would manage this data for us. The system will keep records on all the students who use the system and will actually chart this data. We are unable to print the charts off since we do not have the system connected to a printer. However, the students benefit from being able to see the charted progression of their success. The adaptive PE teacher actually evaluates the data for each student whenever the system is used. However, staff will look at the overall data at year end to measure student progress and to determine any changes and adaptations that need to be made for next school year. We were still learning and adapting the system usage during 3rd quarter this year, so data will only be formally evaluated at the end of 4th quarter. Beginning next school year students’ data will be evaluated at least quarterly and at year end.

Positive Outcome: So many great things happened as a result of having the Wii in our Adaptive PE program. Some of the great successes have been indirectly and directly attributed to the Wii, and all of them have been incredible. First and foremost, the Wii and the games we used helped the students understand how to work as a team. A student who was very introverted most of his school career became a leader in the adaptive PE class. He reached the point where he could singlehandedly teach the students if he had too! While this could be any teacher’s dream or nightmare, in this class, he soared above our expectations and his. Watching him flourish in the adaptive PE class was one of the most rewarding and unexpected aspects of this grant. Each of the students experienced gains in the implementation of the Wii, and were able to learn and develop at their own rate. Tasks that seemed improbable for the students due to physical handicaps have been accomplished because they were given the freedom to learn for themselves. For instance, a few of the students have moderate physical disabilities, and in order to play, they had to use other parts of their bodies to compensate for the challenges of the games.

Another exciting and unexpected part of the program that we experienced was the interactions and socializations among the staff, the special education students and their non-special education peers. The use of the Nintendo Wii system gave the special needs students a sense of pride and acceptance by peers. The special education students were sought out by peers and their class was seen as a class that all students were asking to take. Several staff members asked to observe the adaptive PE class when the class was using the Nintendo Wii system. The special needs students enjoyed the additional staff attention. Challenges Faced: The most challenging part of the program was developing the individual games into exercise programs so that the students could learn on their own. At first, the teacher had to monitor the students quite closely to teach them the ins and outs of each challenge that the games or workouts called for. As the program was developed, each of the students were then given individual workouts that called for certain criteria to be met. One of the biggest impacts of the program development was when one of the students burned roughly 400 calories in one setting. This is equivalent to running for 30 minutes at a quick pace, or biking at a high intensity for 30 minutes—no small feat for a student who experienced some weight setbacks. He then proceeded to burn roughly 200-300 calories each setting, which helped him to become more physically fit. Another student who had balance and weight challenges developed ways to compensate and in turn was able to improve her balance and stability while improving her skills and scores on the game. Number of Children Impacted: There were 4 students in the Adaptive PE program, and each of them were impacted in a unique way. Overall, having the Wii helped each of them to become genuinely excited about P.E., which was no small feat! Because the Wii was mixed with gym/outdoor exercises, there was plenty of variety mixed into each day, so that students could be given an opportunity to experience a variety of benefits from exercising.

We are looking forward to next school year when more students will be incorporated into the program.

Measurement: We started working with the gaming system at the start of 3rd quarter. From that time until present, data did not indicate any significant changes in weight or BMI. However, improvements were noted on balance, scoring and skill levels. It was also noted that students are burning calories during the class period. For example, one student burned 400 calories in one session and is averaging 200-300 calories per session with the Wii. It is hoped that at the end of a full year, there will be decreases in weight and BMI for some of the students.

USD 437 Bev Rogers, RN Washburn Rural High School rogerbev@usd437.net Topeka, KS 785-339-4111 Program Description: We are having a district-wide Family Wellness night. We will have many booths with handouts and activities promoting wellness. This will include activities as well as information to be shared with parents and children. We will give out pedometers and healthy snacks. Positive Outcome: Since our activity is not until May 7, I cannot be sure what the outcome will be. Since this is our first and we hope to be annual event, we are hoping to share a lot of information and raise awareness regarding health and wellness in a fun setting. So far, it has been quite rewarding to have the cooperation of our staff and our community. Challenges Faced: This may be better evaluated after our activity. At this point I think just finding a time that works well for most people who are helping us run this activity. Number of Children Impacted: We will not know this until after our activity. With this being our first event we are hoping and expecting around 500. Measurement: We are going to track the amount of steps each student gets at this event. We also will have a evaluation form for the participants and their families to fill out at the end of the night pertaining to what they got from this event. We are hoping that our students will begin to demonstrate an awareness of what they eat and their activity each day. We are hoping that they will use their pedometers to track their exercise and see the benefit of eating healthy and exercise.

USD 440 Brenda Radke Halstead Middle School bradke@usd440.com Halstead, KS 316-835-2694 Program Description: With our Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation Healthy Habits for Life grant money I was able to purchase 14 elementary wrist heart rate monitors. They were used in my 4th grade physical education classes to help students monitor their heart rates during physical activity. Students learned what their target heart rates would be if they were exercising between 60% and 80% of their maximum. The class participated in a variety of activities and monitored their heart rates and how quickly they recovered. Students who used the heart rate monitors were much more accurate reporting their results. The monitors also were used during the mile run for fitness testing. Students were able to see if they were in the zone, above the zone or below the zone upon completion. Students could see the direct correlation between being in the zone and the amount exertion. The students enjoyed wearing the monitors. It was an easy way to frequently check their heart rate and get instant feedback. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome was that students could take responsibility for their health. The students with the heart rate monitors worked harder to get in their zone and stay there. Students also were held more accountable for their heart rates staying in the target zone because any one could see their number. I hope to expand this to the 5th and 6th grade classes next year. Challenges Faced: The initial challenge was having the monitors back ordered until January. When they finally arrived, they did not work and had to be sent back. They finally arrived in late March so we were not able to use them as much as I had planned. The most challenging part of the program was not having enough monitors for everyone in the class to have one. Number of Children Impacted: Approximately 70. Measurement: Students helped do the math to learn how to figure target heart rates. A log was kept of the heart rate, the activity they were doing that day and how they felt after exercise. Students used the information to set goals for fitness testing.

USD 441 Diane Schoening, RN Sabetha Elementary & Wetmore Elementary schoenid@sabetha441.k12.ks.us Sabetha and Wetmore, KS 785-284-3448 Program Description: We used our grant funds to purchase pedometers for all our 4th grade students. We wanted to stimulate and encourage increase physical activity by using the pedometers and step totals to motivate them. Each student was to walk and track daily step totals the first week to determine a goal for weekly steps. Then each week they were to increase their goal by 2,000 steps up to a total of 10,000 steps daily. We also offered encouragement weekly by giving them idea cards that gave an idea of new ways to increase activity such as: go to the mall or other public place and see how many steps it takes to walk around it, or pick a step buddy and do all the same activities and compare steps. We also talked to them at least once a month about lifetime fitness and activities that they could continue into adulthood to keep active. Any student who completes 10,000 steps a day 5 out of 7 days a week for a total of 4 weeks, earns the Principal's Fitness Award and in entitled to a special hike around our town with the principal during school hours and they do not have to make up any work they miss during the walk. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome so far has been seeing the kids develop an awareness of their level of physical activity. They compare and keep track of their steps everyday and are proud of the activity they get accomplished! Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect has been finding a pedometer that works!! We originally bought pedometers that cost approximately $10 each; thinking they would work and hold up better than a $3 pedometer. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of trouble with the pedometers we bought and have had to replace more than 35% of them. This has made it difficult for the kids and frustrating for me!! We also have a chart with step counts based on minutes at a particular activity so the kids without pedometers have been able to continue the activity but it takes more work on their part. Number of Children Impacted: The total number of students we are working with is 70. This is the 4th grade in both the Sabetha and Wetmore elementary schools. Measurement: We have BMI measurements taken at the beginning of the program and will be taking them again at the end of the program. We are hopeful that we will see a reduction in our BMI numbers and a reduction in the number of students who fall in the overweight or obese category. This may not be realistic since weight loss may not be apparent that quickly. But we will be recording BMI in mid-May to see our results.

USD 445 Melissa Page, RMA Roosevelt Middle School pagem@cvilleschools.com Coffeyville, KS 620-252-6447 Program Description: With the increase of childhood obesity and its complications growing, it is imperative that we, as a school district, take necessary steps to promote healthy habits for life for our students. If we start now and give our children the necessary tools as well as affordable options to maintain these vital habits at school as well as in the home environment, we can decrease this trend, increase self-esteem, self-awareness and improve overall health.

The program that Roosevelt Middle School would like to implement in our physical education classes is the use of stability balls. Stability balls are an affordable piece of equipment that offers total body workout while also improving balance. There are many variations of exercises that can be used with the stability ball that can be adapted for beginners as well those that are advanced in area of fitness.

The target goals for use of the stability ball are an increase in flexibility, strengthening of core muscles, encouraging exercise at any level of fitness while reinforcing healthy habits that are lifelong changes. This activity will be measured by a pre-test and post-test activity. The students will calculate their BMI as well. Positive Outcome: The students enjoyed the use of the stability balls, which encouraged exercise. The balls are affordable so some students purchased balls for themselves. It improved flexibility and educated the children on the importance of core body training while those that were less flexible were introduced to an option of exercise that they could complete successfully which encouraged more active participation. We are still in the process of measuring BMIs but I am confidant there will be marked improvement.

USD 456 Twila Wollenberg & Kristy Markham Marais des Cygnes Valley Elementary School mdcv_tw@yahoo.com Quenemo, KS 785-759-3512 Program Description: Our goal this year was to provide healthy snacks and exercise to see if there would be an improvement in test scores. We were also looking for a more positive attitude towards testing. Curriculum changes also were in place this year to help improve scores.

Our main focus was on 3rd-5th grades. K-2nd grade also participated, but most of the data came from the upper grades. The students received a snack every day that they were tested. We also rewarded them with exercise time after the test. We also will have a final celebration that will include healthy snacks and a variety of activities to participate in. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program is that we have seen an improvement in test scores! The students were excited to see what their snack would be everyday. We also put a positive saying on the snack for each individual student. They also enjoyed the “free” time to exercise or play. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect was scheduling the exercise time. Our MTSS program (groups and interventions) takes a lot of time during our regular day. Our music and PE teachers both travel between two buildings in our district. Changing one schedule affects several! We made it happen but this was our biggest challenge. We did give all of the students an opportunity for exercise time, but the Wii time was limited. Number of Children Impacted: In grades K-5th there are 113 students. Measurement: The measurement and documentation is started but not complete. Some test scores will not be available until the end of this school year. Every grade has at least one more test to take within the next month. Our state assessment celebration is scheduled for April 22. This also will be the day we have the students take a survey and give us feedback on the program. We compared the state test scores for 4th and 5th grade. Our AIMS Web and MAP assessments will be completed soon.

USD 457 Teresa Utz, RN Gertrude Walker Elementary teutz@gckschools.com Garden City, KS 620-805-7606 Program Description: Our Healthy Habits for Life program focuses toward life long skills to increase physical fitness, good nutrition, and decreasing cardiovascular complications. The Healthy Habits grant money allowed us to purchase four Nintendo Wii systems along with extra remotes. The Wii is providing many opportunities for kids who may not normally be active, and has inspired many students who may not have had the opportunity to try some sports they have never tried. There is such a wide variety of different sports games like (skiing, snowboarding) for students to try and build on including Wii Fit, Wii Resort and multiple games which are interactive with physical activity. Positive Outcome: Many positive outcomes have come with having the Wii. The Wii provides the choices for reward parties and indoor recess when weather does not permit the students to go outside. It provides many different games to increase physical activity and promote good cardiovascular health. It gives the students, staff and parents involved in our health night the opportunity to find something they enjoy while being active. The Wii focuses on a reward system so the player must earn their success while they advance using the Wii games. With decreasing budgets and field trips limited the Wii has the opportunity to build and grow with student activities and reward parties throughout each school year. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect was to purchase as many Wii systems as possible along with the remotes and nunchuks so all students can have the opportunity to participate during the timeframe allotted. Another challenge was how to make the Wii available to all teachers. We decided it would be best to have them in a locked cabinet and checked out through the school library. Number of Children Impacted: With students, staff and parents we have included approximately 450 people. Measurement: Approximately 450 people have already used the Wii; we plan to continue the use of the Wii and build toward physically active games each school year for years to come.

USD 457 Teresa Utz, RN Jennie Barker Elementary School teutz@gckschools.com Garden City, KS 620-805-7606 Program Description: Our Healthy Habits for Life program focuses toward life long skills to increase physical fitness, good nutrition, and decreasing cardiovascular complications. With the Healthy Habits grant money it allowed us to purchase 2 Nintendo Wii systems along with extra remotes. The Wii is providing many opportunities for kids who may not normally be active, and has inspired many students who may not have had the opportunity to try some sports they have never tried. There is such a wide variety of different sports games like (skiing, snowboarding) for students to try and build on including Wii Fit, Wii Resort and multiple games which are interactive with physical activity. Positive Outcome: Many positive outcomes have come with having the Wii. The Wii provides the choices for reward parties and indoor recess when weather does not permit the students to go outside. It provides many different games to increase physical activity and promote good cardiovascular health. It gives the students, staff and parents involved in our health night the opportunity to find something they enjoy while being active. The Wii focuses on a reward system so the player must earn their success while they advance using the Wii games. With decreasing budgets and field trips limited the Wii has the opportunity to build and grow with student activities and reward parties throughout each school year. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect was to purchase as many Wii systems as possible and extra remotes so all students can have the opportunity to participate during the timeframe allotted. Another challenge was how to make the Wii available to all teachers. We decided it would be best to have them in a locked cabinet and checked out through the school library. Number of Children Impacted: With students, staff, and parents we have included approximately 550 people who have used the Wii. Measurement: Approximately 550 people have already used the Wii, we plan to continue the use of the Wii and build toward physically active games each school year for years to come.

USD 457 Kimberly Partin, RN Jennie Wilson & Georgia Matthews Elementaries kpartin@gckschools.com Garden City, KS 620-805-7757 or 620-805-7582 Program Description: “Reach and Teach” Students and Families on Making Healthy Choices

With the grant funding, I was able to purchase many teaching tools to assist with teaching healthy habits to the students in my two buildings. I purchased a variety of hand-outs for students (some geared toward students and some geared toward family education), activity booklets, children’s books, nutritional books on how to teach families, food pyramid models and activities, posters, fruit and veggie bingo, and other teaching models. These items were used in the classroom to help me better “reach and teach” the students on the importance of making healthy choices. My teaching primarily focused on making healthy food choices – especially the need to choose more fruits and vegetables, and on choosing to get more daily exercise. I was able to give classroom presentations to the majority of classes ECH – 4th grade at both schools.

I was also able to use many of these teaching tools and activities to promote healthy habits at a Family Literacy and Health Night – with the focus being, “Feeding Our Minds and Bodies.” This was a great way to teach not only the students, but also to reach – teach – and motivate their parents to make healthy choices that affect the entire family. With the grant funding, I was also able to purchase motivational prizes to reward students for their efforts of participation in the school walking programs. When the students have walked 25 miles, they have “earned” their water bottle, backpack, or T-shirt. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome was all the positive energy and excitement that was brought about by the teaching. The students loved learning about making healthy choices. After I give a classroom presentation, for several weeks, the students come up to me to tell me about the healthy choices they’ve been making. As well, I received only positive feed back from parents after the health night activities. I had the parents fill out a survey after the activities, and many wrote down that they planned to add more fruits and vegetables to their meals, and planned to get more exercise. There were no negative comments on any of these surveys. Another survey was sent home at the beginning of April at both schools. Again, I received a tremendous amount of positive feedback from the parents. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of the program was finding the additional time to give the presentations. Giving an extra 29 classroom presentations within a two-month period obviously took quite a bit of time, but it was well worth it. The presentations lasted approx 45 minutes a piece. As well, a lot of planning went into preparation for health night. Again, in the end, this was worth the extra effort, as the majority of the students and family members reached expressed excitement and motivation toward making healthier choices.

Number of Children Impacted: Approximately 500 students were impacted via the classroom presentations between the two schools. Many students were also impacted by the health night activities. As well, more than 250 students are being impacted by the walking program that will continue through the beginning of May. Measurement: Health Night Survey:

Approximately 60 families attended the health night activities. Thirty-one surveys were returned to me from this event. I asked three questions on the survey:

1. Was the information taught tonight helpful to you? 2. Do you plan to increase the amounts of fruits and vegetables that you and your family eat? 3. What healthy choices are you planning on making? Please share your thoughts.

“Yes” was the response listed on all of the surveys in response to questions 1 and 2. On the third question, many positive responses were written down about changes that the family intended to make. There were no negative responses.

Second Survey:

I sent a second survey home at the beginning of April. At Jennie Wilson, I sent a half sheet of paper home with four questions. This survey was typed on bright yellow paper, used with the hope of getting the parent’s attention. The questions on the survey were as follows:

1. Did your son or daughter tell you that they learned about the need to make healthier choices? 2. Did your son or daughter tell you that they learned about the need to eat more fruits and vegetables? 3. Did your son or daughter tell you that they learned about the need to have some form of exercise every

day? 4. How has this information affected your child or your family as a whole?

I sent home 137 surveys. Fifty-two completed surveys have been returned to the nurse’s office (and more come in every day).

Results so far: In response to Q. #1: 49 marked yes, 3 marked no In response to Q. #2: 47 marked yes, 5 marked no In response to Q. #3: 48 marked yes, 4 marked no In response to Q #4: 39 positive responses were written out about healthy changes being made, 11 were left blank, two wrote “no change.”

At Georgia Matthews, I included the same survey as shown above, but included it in the school newsletter. So far, I have received only one survey back. “Yes” was circled on questions 1 through 3, with a “positive change” comment written for question 4. However, several parents have verbalized to me that their children have talked to them about making healthy choices, and that they are trying to implement positive changes at home.

Due to the lack of feedback from the second school, it can be concluded that it is best to send a separate form home when sending out surveys.

Walking Program Results:

At Jennie Wilson, 130 kids are participating in the walking program. So far, approximately 1,670 miles have been walked, jogged or ran by students. Every student who walks 25 miles, earns a water bottle, T-shirt, or backpack. Twenty-five “reward” prizes have been given so far. The walking program will continue through May 7. I anticipate that several more “reward” prizes will be given.

At Georgia Matthews, 125 kids are participating in the walking program. So far, approximately 700 miles have been walked, jogged, or ran by students. Every student who walks 25 miles, earns a water bottle, T-shirt, or backpack. Fifteen “reward” prizes have been given so far. The walking program will continue through May 7. I anticipate that several more “reward” prizes will be given.

USD 462 Micki Wunderlich, RN Central Schools mwunderlich@usd462.org Burden, KS 620-438-3195 Program Description: At Central Schools we used our Healthy Habits for Life grant money to help purchase a climbing wall for our elementary school gym. We used other grant money and money donated by our CPTO to help purchase the climbing wall. Due to fundraising issues, we did not get our wall purchased until April. Positive Outcome: Because of unforeseen delays, we can't say for sure. However, we are hoping to get the kids more physically active during inside recess time, and expand the kid's ideas of physical activity. We are also hoping that the climbing wall will be a way to get kids physically active that may struggle with standard physical activities (such as baseball or football). Challenges Faced: I believe monitoring the children for safety while using the climbing wall. Number of Children Impacted: There are 148 elementary students who will be able to use the climbing wall. The climbing wall will also be available to the junior/senior high gym classes which consist of 162 students. Measurement: Unable to report on this at this time.

USD 464 Heather DeMaranville, RN Tonganoxie Middle School hdemaranville@tong464.org Tonganoxie, KS 913-845-9187 Program Description: The focus of this program was to help students understand the importance of improving eating habits. The two main topics we wanted to address were portion size and food content. By improving these two areas, we can help give students the knowledge to establish lifelong success in healthy choices. Students seem to be very receptive to visually stimulating materials, therefore by purchasing educational materials to display showing simulated fat or even sugar and fat content of everyday foods they eat, they will get a better picture of what they are doing to their bodies. Also, visuals about serving sizes and how to read a nutritional label were used. The goal is to provide students with knowledge that they can integrate into everyday life that will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in the future. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome is that students gained knowledge that will enhance their lives forever. They have a better understanding of what choices are available and how many things they are eating now are not good for them. The students enjoyed learning and want to make positive changes in their lifestyle. Challenges Faced: The most challenging was trying to make sure all students in the school had some exposure to the educational materials. Not all students are in PE or FACS at the same time. Since we only had one semester to implement the program, we did not reach every student through class times. This can be fixed easily by integrating it into the next school year. Also, we were able to put displays in the PE display case that every person in the school could see. Number of Children Impacted: As I stated before, at some point every student and staff member was able to at least view the educational materials in the display case. For classroom education, about half of our students, or 300 students, were able to have more in depth instruction. Measurement: The classroom instruction provided a great forum to make sure the students retained the information they were taught. The students were not only able to see and talk about the visuals, but they also were able to do lessons for grades about making choices and reading the nutritional labels. Students also had to show proper portion sizes. The students did well on these showing the materials purchased through the grant were instrumental in educating students on healthy choices throughout their lives.

USD 481 Renae Hickert Hope School renae.hickert@usd481.org Hope, KS 785-366-7221 Program Description: Wii Fit Challenge: As the junior high students finished lunch, they were allowed to play the Wii physical activity games. Our junior high is small so all students could be playing Wii physical activity games and other physical activities. Positive Outcome: As students were actively engaged, the number of discipline problems has decreased during this time. In addition, students who were hesitant to be active during traditionally active times enjoyed taking part in the challenge. Challenges Faced: As students enjoy video games, making certain all children had the opportunity to play was the most challenging. Number of Children Impacted: 34 Measurement: The number of minutes students participated in physical activity increased by 15 minutes per day. Prior to this challenge, students just sat at the lunch table and there was no opportunity for physical activity after the students were done eating.

USD 481 Karla Effland, RN White City Schools efflk@tctelco.net White City, KS 785-466-1839 Program Description: White City Schools used the funding from the Healthy Habits for Life grant toward the purchase of Skillastics. Skillastics is a standards-based, fitness and sport-specific activity. The kits allow one teacher to supervise a physical work out for many students at one time. We purchased two kits, one for lower grades and one for junior high-aged students. Our school health council provided some funding for this as well through the Kansas Coordinated School Health. Students break up into six different teams and completed independent activities. Our school has only one gym so this program allowed many students to be active at one time. It is well designed so substitute teachers could be successful with the program as well. Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome of the program was that many students could participate and even students that do not like to participate in group sports enjoyed the small group activities. Challenges Faced: Usually the most challenging aspect of any program is obtaining teacher buy in. Because some of our teachers had been to a national conference and partaken in the activities themselves and the fact that everything is together for them, we did not receive any negative comments about the program. Number of Children Impacted: The program was used for students K-8th grades and we are looking at expanding to high school next year. This program made it possible for more than 120 students to enjoy it. Measurement: Teachers reported that students that did not usually like to participate in physical activities were willing to do so since there were smaller groups and the competitive nature that is involved in most physical activities was removed, allowing all students a chance to excel.

USD 497 Lu-Yuen "Cathy" Mao, RN Central Junior High School lcmao@usd497.org Lawrence, KS 785-330-2559 Program Description: The Smart Strength program brings in physical trainers to work with up to 80 of our students twice a week. There are four trainers at every session working with our 7th-9th grade students, teaching them lifelong fitness and nutrition skills. Students are assessed by the trainers and are given group workouts twice a week, depending upon their ability level. Working in small groups with the trainers, the students build relationships with their trainers and peers as well as physical fitness, which helps to encourage them to stick with the program. Students increase not only their physical abilities and nutrition awareness, but their self-esteem, working with peers through similar challenges. Students also are taught about healthy eating habits, through posters, handouts, and in informative "lessons" delivered by the trainers. Positive Outcome: The students who completed the program shared with us their dedication to working exercise into their daily routines. One student in particular summed it up by sharing that “For me exercise is no longer a rarity, but a routine.” The same group of students also demonstrated greater leadership abilities in classrooms and during the program, showing a willingness to demonstrate and lead activities during the sessions, and also throughout the school day with their friends. Challenges Faced: Disseminating information and communicating it to students in a way that is interesting it to them. While we anticipated up to 80 students being able to participate regularly, we had approximately 30 students who completed the year in the program, largely due to students lack of interest in how the program could be beneficial to them. Number of Children Impacted: Eighty students directly participated in the program. The entire student body, approximately 440 students, received nutrition and fitness information that was shared through posters around the building and in student announcements. Measurement: It was proposed that we would use a Functional Movement Screen to assess strength and flexibility in a variety of movement planes. This test included the over head squat, regular squat, backwards lunge, shoulder mobility and hip flexibility/mobility. Individual student data records assist us in creating a spreadsheet to determine the groups that need to strengthen or improve in certain categories. While this was used to assign students groups in which they would participate, we were not successful in tracking this information throughout the course of the program. This was largely due to the number of students who were not consistent in participation, making it very challenging to assess this information regularly.

For the second semester of this program, we tracked students stress level at the beginning and end of each session, using a scale of 1 to 10, with one being completed relaxed and 10 being overly stressed out. We found that on average, students would arrive with a stress level of 4 and would leave at a 1.

USD 498 Kathleen Steinfort Valley Heights ksteinfort@valleyheights.org Waterville, KS 785-363-2661 Program Description: Valley Heights is using the Healthy Habits for Life grant funds to encourage parents of early childhood aged children to develop healthy life styles at home. We know parents are the most important teachers their children will ever have and the early childhood years are crucial years of physical development and learning. We have planned a fun educational family Mini Mustang Rodeo event. Four educational “arenas” are planned for families to move through.

Kicking Up Our Heels Arena will include actions songs like the “Chicken Dance,” “The Hokey Pokey,” and “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” led by a high school cowboy and cowgirl. Homemade rhythm band instruments are ready to shake and bang out versions of “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” Music is a great way to increase cardiovascular rates, exercise and relieve stress while you wiggle and enjoy time as a family.

Food Bunk Arena led by the Marshall County K-State Extension staff will present the importance of incorporating the different food groups into meals; discuss portion sizes for young children; and include the importance of healthy drink choices. Focus will be on the vitamin and minerals needs found in fruits and vegetables. Displays will show the fat and sugar content in many of our popular foods.

Cantering, Trotting and Galloping Arena led by the fitness center director/instructor will involve families in physical active fun. She will encourage parents to be active with their children. “Cooling down” stress relieving exercises will be shared, too.

Roping A Book Arena led by a teacher will be held in our library area. It will include finger plays, nursery rhymes and creating a “baggy family book” which will include a family photo taken as they arrived at the rodeo.

A “Hand Washing 101” lesson given by a nurse will start the snack time as families come together following rotating through the arenas. Families will create their own fruit kabobs to enjoy with string cheese and crackers.

A stroll around the school “corral” (track) will end the event. Families will take home a “saddle bag” packed with provisions including a ball, story book, information from our community libraries with book suggestions, nutrition information, PE activities parents can do at home and the Parents As Teachers summer play group park schedule.

We also have been using funds to offer a fresh fruit or vegetable snack to our pre-school and kinder prep classes once a week. We ordered soft sport balls and disks for recess time.

Positive Outcome: The teaching staff of our pre-school and kinder prep classes has been very encouraging as we have offered a variety of fruit and vegetable snacks weekly. The students have been willing to try at least one piece each week. It was especially interesting to watch the children “explore,” find the baby peas, and try raw sweet snow peas and pods. Children have more balls and disks to play with so all are more active during the recess times. The planning of the “arena” leaders has been very creative and positive. We look forward to an educational fun filled family event.

Challenges Faced: We have invited families to the rodeo event personally, through fliers sent in the PTA newsletter, and sent home in book bags. We have a registration date set. Trying to anticipate the number of families that will attend the rodeo and ordering supplies ahead of time has been the most challenging aspect of caring out our grant goals. Number of Children Impacted: Sixty-five children have been enjoying the sports equipment, fruits and vegetables. We do not have a total of additional children that will be attending the mini rodeo with their parents yet. Older and younger siblings will be attending. Measurement: Students are trying the variety of fruits and vegetables offered. Teachers have shared with students the importance of them in their diets. Students have requested repeats of some and look forward to seeing what one they will be trying each week.

Teachers do not have to borrow balls from the older elementary classes to have enough for recess now. The soft balls are safer for the younger children.

We are seeing parents sign up for the Mini Mustang Rodeo that have pre-school and kinder prep aged children. We look forward to a fun family evening where families can learn and experience healthy activities they can do in their own homes.

The activities that we have used the grant funds for have already encouraged healthier life styles for our youngest school children.

USD 501 Courtney Halverson Chase Middle School chalver@topeka.k12.ks.us Topeka, KS 785-295-3899 Program Description: We purchased two Nintendo Wii systems, two fit boards, and four Dance, Dance Revolution pads with our money. We gave students a chance to use the Wii systems in the morning before school and during gym classes. We also used the Wii systems during all school assemblies and during our Family Fun Fitness Night. The day we got out of school we used the Wii systems for our all-school Winter Olympics. The students were given the opportunity to play Wii skiing and snowboarding and also the Dance, Dance Revolution. We also used some of the money to help out with our family night and we had a great turnout. We bought ingredients for the families to make their own trail mix and we also bought sugar-free syrup for snow cones and the kids really enjoyed them. Positive Outcome: The most positive thing for me was seeing kids get a workout using the Wii without actually realizing they were working out. I also enjoyed the moment at our fitness night when our students who have used the Wii throughout the semester got the opportunity to show their families how to use it for exercise! Challenges Faced: It was challenging to get the students to get out of their comfort zones and use the Wii systems in front of their peers. Number of Children Impacted: Every student in our school has had the opportunity to use the Wii systems. We did our study on two 8th grade classes and in the mornings the whole student body was able to try if they wanted to. Our students’ families also were impacted through our family night. Measurement: We are doing our final measurements for our end of the year fitness testing. We will compare our two 8th grade classes to our other classes to see if using the Wii has helped them increase their scores in muscular strength, muscular endurance and cardiorespiratory endurance. Our students who have used the Wii on a regular basis are showing signs of being more confident about their workouts and have increased their cardiorespiratory endurance.

USD 508 Shelly Grimes Baxter Springs School District grimess@usd508.org Baxter Springs, KS 620-856-3322 Program Description: Walk Across Kansas is the program we implemented into our school with the use of the Healthy Habits grant. With the funding we were able to purchase 25 hopper balls, 25 pairs of stilts and a heart rate monitor.

We placed a large State of Kansas map on our wall in both gymnasiums with the most popular cities posted and their populations. Each day the students had PE they would click on their pedometer and begin exercising on the ball, walking on the stilts, and/or just walking and jogging. At the end of the PE session we would write down the number of steps each person took according to his/her pedometer reading, tally the entire class together, and then discuss how far we got across the state.

The kids loved this program. We were able to integrate math skills, geography and physical activity all into one session. Positive Outcome: I believe the most positive aspect of the program was the enthusiastic response from the kids when they would get to click on there pedometers. Every day, they would ask, “where is my pedometer?,” “Do we get to keep them?,” “How many steps did I take today?” The kids would jog in place just to make the pedometer get more clicks. Challenges Faced: We utilized our heart rate monitor to check rates on kids before and after exercising. This was very difficult to do since we only had one heart rate reader. I would suggest purchasing more of these if you test heart rate. By the time each student had read their heart rate, it had already decreased.

The other challenging aspect of the program was tallying all of our pedometer readings in such a small amount of time. I had a student teacher at the time so it made things much easier.

Number of Children Impacted: More than 200 students participated in this program and from a subjective opinion it was very successful and well received. Measurement: I believe we are making progress in the area of educating our students on the importance of daily movement and activity. The program demonstrated how far each student actually is walking and how a person becomes short of breath if they are working out aerobically.

In closure, it was a great program, the kids learned how to use pedometers, and benefited from all aspects of the grant. Thank you so much for the opportunity to apply and fulfill a need at Baxter Springs Elementary School.

Cair Paravel Latin School Jeff Colombo Topeka, KS jcolombo@cpls.org 785-232-3878 Program Description: The purpose of the strength and conditioning course at Cair Paravel Latin School is to promote physical well-being through specific activities designed to build strength and increase cardiovascular conditioning. The student will be taught proper weightlifting and conditioning techniques to be used in a circuit training work-out routine. I create a workout routine, or at the minimum a list of workout exercises that fits each student’s ability, body type and degree in which they are in shape.

With the help of the grant I was able to add different exercises to their routine. Each student has a window of 30 minutes to complete their workout routine. The last 10 minutes of class is used as a warm down time, which includes a five-minute run on the track.

An example of a student’s routine is as follows:

Arms and Stomach Stretching followed by push ups before lifting. Sit-ups followed by incline sit-ups with added weight. Medicine ball exercises solo and with partner. Dumbbell arm exercises Three sets of curls on curling bar continually adding weight.

Positive Outcome: The most positive outcome is watching high school students get excited about changing their bodies in a positive healthy way. The added workout equipment provided by the grant brought a higher level of seriousness to the atmosphere of the class. I wanted the students to have something outside of dumbbells for their arms and shoulder routines and adding resistance cables and the curling bar has provided that completely. The class itself looks more attractive with more offered to the students. Challenges Faced: Besides the time restraint of an average class length, the most challenging part of the program is still getting high school students to have the determination and drive to want to better themselves in an elective class. Number of Children Impacted: This class not only impacts the seven students in the strength and conditioning class, but lays the groundwork for any of the 80+ high school students next year who are interested in taking the course as one of their electives.

Measurement: Benchmarks or documented measurements are hard with a class that only meets every Tuesday and Thursday. What has happened is a few of the students who do not play any school sports have increased their weightlifting maximums and at the same time have added muscle and lost some unnecessary fat. My student-athletes have been challenged to try new exercises and quickly learned that their strength and flexibility is not what it could be.

Holy Rosary-Wea Catholic Grade School Debbie Martin Bucyrus, KS debbieo.martin@gmail.com 913-533-2462 Program Description: This year we used the majority of our funding to purchase stability balls for K-5th grade students to sit on instead of their traditional desk chairs. The balls allow for “active sitting,” and strengthen core muscles, improve strength, blood flow and concentration. Our pilot project last year was so successful that we wanted to expand this program to K-5th grades. More information can be found on the Web site: wittfitt.com

Part of our funding was used to hold two Healthy Habits Contests, in which students were challenged to eat a healthy breakfast every morning, and exercise at least 30 minutes per day. Students had to complete each habit for two weeks, receiving a lottery ticket daily if they did so. After two weeks each class had a drawing for a $5 prize, and the winning class received an extra recess.

We also had whole grain granola bars and skim milk available for the entire school one day during the Healthy Breakfast topic. Positive Outcome: The positive impact of the stability balls has been amazing! Both the teachers and students love that it allows them more movement; decreases back pain, and increases their focus and concentration. The students are able to sit more comfortably with less “fidgeting.”

The most positive outcome for me is how the interest level goes way up during the time we have the contests. The students are always telling me what they had for breakfast, or what they did for exercise. I love that it puts the focus on such healthy behaviors, and hope after two weeks it becomes a Healthy Habit. Challenges Faced: I would say the most challenging aspect is trying to get so much pertinent information out to both students and parents to make an impact. Much of the time, the healthy behaviors are directly dependent on the parents, such as what the child eats for breakfast, or when they have time to exercise. It is difficult to find a way to get the information out, without overloading parents and kids with more paper that comes home from school.

This year a major challenge was getting everyone on “the ball” at the same time. We had hoped to complete a pre-test that involved physical agility testing, but it was impossible to do that with all the classes “going live” all at once. It took several days to a few weeks of blowing up the balls with the use of an air compressor before everyone was fitted properly for their ball.

Number of Children Impacted: All of our students from K-8th grade have an opportunity to participate in the Healthy Habits Contest. That includes about 250 kids and the staff as well. The entire school also is given free whole grain granola bars and skim milk one morning as part of our Healthy Breakfast topic. That includes about 300 students.

The stability balls were provided for K-5th grade, or approximately 150 students. Measurement: Due to the time constraints of trying to get K-5th grade on the balls at the same time, we were not able to complete the physical agility testing that we had used for the pilot test last year. Instead we completed a satisfaction survey at the end of this year to get an idea if the student felt the balls were valuable. We asked them to rate eight questions either “No,” “A little,” or “Yes.” They also had an opportunity to provide a comment about sitting on the balls.

No A little Yes

I feel that sitting on the ball has made me more flexible. 16% 52% 32%

I feel like sitting on the ball makes it easier to move around during the day.

21% 23% 56%

Being on the ball makes me feel more comfortable at my desk. 18% 29% 53%

Sitting on the ball helps me to focus on my work. 21% 35% 44%

I feel like sitting on the ball helps me to sit up straight and have better posture.

25% 32% 43%

I feel like sitting on the ball helps me to use my stomach and back (core) muscles to sit up straight.

24% 45% 31%

I like sitting on the balls better than sitting on a chair. 21% 18% 61%

Would you want to sit on the balls again next year? 23% 77%

* I question the validity of some of the surveys, as some students marked all “No” answers, but then still indicated they did want to sit on the ball next year, and wrote a positive comment. Some of the comments written were: If feels good sitting on a ball. It was fun and you got better posture. I think it is better because I like moving. I like it because it gives me a little exercise from bouncing and I can do work at the same time. I feel great sitting on the ball because it helps me focus and helps me with my posture. In one word… Awesome!

St. Mary Parish Catholic School Lori Torline, RN Derby, KS ltorline@stmarysderby.com 316-788-3151 Program Description: The program we implemented involved painting stencil games on our school playground and blacktop parking lot. Our school has a wonderful playground but when it rains playing there is impossible until things dry out. Instead of the playground, the children play on the blacktop parking lot. They play the usual games of jump rope, soccer, make believe, etc. But after a time it seems the games get boring. By having these painted surface activities available we were hoping to encourage more physical activity, cardiovascular exercise and positive group play instead of just standing around during recess. Our goal was to provide activities that could be used by multiple age groups.

As the school nurse I see numerous blacktop injuries from students not having a more structured recess. I felt that if there were more specific areas to play during wet weather I would see fewer injuries. I also wanted to see our middle school students more engaged in activity rather than just standing around talking to classmates.

After intensive online research, we located a company that sold us the stencils at a reasonable price. We contacted our local paint store for information on paint availability and supplies. With the help of parent volunteers we painted the stencils on the playground blacktop. Positive Outcome: Teachers report seeing students engaged in positive group activity. The most positive outcome we have seen so far is children excited to be moving and playing. Both younger students and older ones have some new games to play and are more physically active. Challenges Faced: The biggest challenge was waiting for a warm, dry day with no wind so that the paint would adhere to the surface and dry adequately. The actual painting was not difficult and went rather quickly. Number of Children Impacted: This project was targeted to our entire student body K-8. Measurement: We have painted several of the stencils and will continue to apply the remaining ones as the weather permits. Our school is in the process of building a new school building on a new site within the next year. We are looking forward to taking these stencils with us and applying them to the playground there as well.

Xavier Elementary Leavenworth Jill Stean, RN Regional Catholic School jstean@juno.com Leavenworth, KS 913-682-1943 Program Description: The project developed at Xavier Elementary, thanks to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation Healthy Habits for Life grant program, helped us buy stabilization balls and workout videos. The program was for K-2nd grades. During months of inclement weather, our school has 86 students whom do not have access to a gymnasium or any open indoor space to exercise. The children are often sedentary watching a movie or playing board games during recess time. With the grant money we were able to buy 24 stabilization balls, 2 exercise videos specific for children and exercise balls, and 10 other exercise videos that focused on core strength and aerobic exercise. I was also invited into each classroom and provided a basic introduction of the heart. I was reinforcing physical activity to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. I would like to continue the program and also incorporate further education about nutrition. This would emphasize the importance of healthy choices, portion control, and the impact that both nutrition and physical education have on the developing body. Positive Outcome: The positive outcome was that students were able to continue to exercise, burn calories and strengthen muscles even during times when the students usually would not be able to. The physical education teacher was also pleased to use the videos. The videos were geared to younger students and incorporated education about the important of fitness throughout the years to come. It was enjoyable working with the balls and doing the exercises with the students. The students, in turn, had fun and were engaged in an activity that helped them exercise and build core strengthening at the same time. The effectiveness of the program was very successful. The students were happy to bounce, stretch, dance and move and the teachers were happy the students were able to release extra energy so they were able to focus on their studies. As a school nurse I loved the opportunity to get in the classroom and provide education to the students. The project generated many educational questions from the students about the anatomy of the heart and has thus inspired me to continue to build on the basis of providing them with more education. Challenges Faced: The most challenging aspect of the program was finding space for the exercise balls after they were inflated. Twenty-four inflated stabilization balls took up more space than I had initially planned. The act of inflating and deflating the balls numerous times during the winter months was more time consuming than planned. I would really like to keep the balls permanently inflated and stored on a rack or another storage system to keep them easily accessible for frequent use.

Number of Children Impacted: The number of children impacted was 86 students for K-2nd grade. The extended care program is also located in the building so they also were able to enjoy our equipment. The extended care provides care to about 20 preschoolers. Measurement: The effectiveness of the program was measured in a recorded log. The students were unable to have PE or recess 32 days after the equipment was ordered and delivered. The students were given a numeric scale from 0-5. I called it the “FUN SCALE.” Zero being the least amount of fun and 5 being the most fun they have had during recess or P.E. The average was 4.8. This tool also reinforced to the staff and me that the children enjoyed the exercises and preferred to be active instead of sedentary with games and movies.

For more information on the

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Foundation

contact Marlou Wegener, chief operating officer, at (785) 291-7246,

by e-mail at marlou.wegener@bcbsks.com

or visit our Web site: www.bcbsks.com/foundation