Brains and Bodies Workshops

AHA's Brains and Bodies Workshop series, offered in conjunction with Wake County PTA Council, is designed to provide parents, teachers and administrators with practical solutions and tools to meet and exceed local wellness policies. Connect with other parents and school staff at these FREE workshops as we explore ways to make your school a healthier place to be! 

Upcoming Workshop: 
AHA will offer one more workshops in the 2011-2012 school year; registration will be open a few weeks prior to the event. 

Brains and Bodies Award for Healthy Schools

AHA created the new AHA Brains and Bodies Award—the first award for Wake County schools striving to improve the health of its students and staff--to recognize schools across the county that are going the extra mile to meet and exceed local wellness policies and create a healthy school environment. 
 
The award allows schools to showcase how they are fostering a healthier student body and school environment—everything from innovative fundraisers that leave unhealthy foods out of the equation, to school walking or running programs that get kids and staff moving.
 

2012 Awards Program

The 2012 application for the award will be available in January for schools that submit an intent to apply for the award. Schools considering applying may reference the 2011 Award Application (pdf), although some changes have been made to the application for 2012.

NEW:  Intent to Apply for 2012 Brains and Bodies Award:

For the 2012 awards program, ONLY schools that submit their intent to apply will have access to the application.
Schools may now submit their intent to apply for the award here. Schools that submit their intent to apply receive an email with a link to the award application within one business day. The final deadline to submit intent to apply is 5 pm on Feb. 1, 2012.

AHA Rewards Healthy Schools --2012 Brains and Bodies Award Program
Brains and Bodies Award Fact Sheet
Brains and Bodies Award FAQ

Links that may be useful to your school as you complete the application:

2011 Award Winners

On June 7, 2011, Wake County Public Schools Superintendent Tony Tata joined AHA the 2011 Brains and Bodies Award recipients for Wake County elementary and middle schools striving to improve the health of students and staff. Schools earned awards in the Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention categories for their efforts to increase physical activity and nutrition opportunities.

Gold Award
  • A.B. Combs Elementary, Raleigh
  • Fuller Elementary, Raleigh 
  • Underwood Elementary, Raleigh
  • St. Mary Magdalene Catholic School, Apex
Silver Award
  • West Lake Elementary in Apex
Bronze Award 
  • Davis Drive Elementary, Mills Park Elementary and Northwoods Elementary in Cary;
  • Hunter Elementary, Swift Creek Elementary and Wildwood Forest Elementary in Raleigh; and
  • Olive Chapel Elementary in Apex.
Honorable Mention
  • Farmington Woods Elementary in Cary
     
Best Practices and Award-winning School Profiles
In part, AHA created the awards program so that schools could share ideas and learn from each other about programs that are working well! AHA developed the following Best Practices and profiles of each of the award winners to help other schools see how they can make positive changes for students and staff.  
 

 

Lunch In:  Local Foods in Wake County Schools

Chef Jason Smith of 18 Seaboard was awarded the Iron Carrot at Lunch In, an Iron Chef-style competition held at Underwood Elementary School on March 31 for his winning healthy lunch creation featuring rutabaga, the secret ingredient. Chef Smith prevailed over Chef Todd Whitney of J. Betski’s and won over the taste buds of six student judges and one teacher in the first Lunch In event held in Wake County.
 
Sponsored by AHA, Lunch In is designed to raise awareness and engage the community to advocate for fresh and healthy school lunches in Wake County. “It was great to see so many kids and their families enjoying healthy, local food—especially rutabaga!” said Laura Aiken, AHA director. “For some, this was their first experience with rutabaga, a locally grown vegetable. Educating children and their families about healthy eating, the foods available to them locally in Wake County and how we can work together to get more local foods into schools is what Lunch In is all about.”
 
Underwood students and their families enjoyed cooking demonstrations and local food, gathered healthy meal and snack ideas, chatted with local North Carolina farmers and learned about school meals and po licy reform.
 
AHA is working with a team of volunteers in the community to make fresh, local, and healthy food choices an integral part of Wake County students’ school day.  AHA plans several other Lunch In events at Wake County schools this year with other local chefs. Schools that are interested in hosting such a competition may contact AHA.
 
There are lots of photos from this fun and educational event at AHA's Facebook page!
 
“Engaging community members helped make Lunch In such a great event,” Aiken said. Underwood parents and concerned community members Amy Gilbert, Tia McLaurin, Holly Taylor, Stephen Mangano, Zely & Ritz Chef Sarig Agasi and Katherine Andrew of the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle worked together with AHA to plan and carry out the competition. The idea for the Iron Carrot competition grew out of general interest from the community and AHA’s screening last fall of the documentary Lunch Line.
Brains and Bodies Workshops
Our kids spend most of their day at school, so we need schools to be healthier places!  AHA developed its Brains and Bodies workshop series to provide parents, teachers and administrators with the knowledge and resources to create a healthier school environment and enforce a local wellness policy at little or no cost. Workshops provide practical tools and solutions and a way for parents and educators to connect.
Upcoming Brains and Bodies Workshops
  
Here are some handy tools from past Brains and Bodies Workshops you can use at your school! (Many of these are also useful for church youth groups, girl/boy scouts, Y Princesses and Guides and other youth-serving organizations.)
 
What Can You Do?
As a parent, administrator or teacher, you can advocate for healthier schools! 

School Health Advisory Council (SHAC)

Another way you can helpis by contacting your local school and asking how you can get involved in the School Health Advisory Council (SHAC).  SHAC serves as the primary health advisory board for the Wake County Public School System. Each year SHAC submits recommendations to the Superintendent and the Board of Education. The goal of this council is to strengthen and expand instructional programs and support services for the eight components of a coordinated school health model. The eight components include:
The Wake County Public School System formed the School Health Advisory Council in 1990. SHAC was originally established to bridge partnerships between the Wake County Public School System, Wake County Board of Education, Wake County Commissioners, and the Wake County Health Department. The council serves as advisories to the Wake County Public School System's Board of Education on topics relating to student health and well-being. In 1992, SHAC adopted its official name and By-Laws, which are still in use today. SHAC is a stong AHA partner, and we work closely together to create healthier school environments here in Wake County.
 
Since the induction of North Carolina's Healthy Active Children Policy in 2006 all school systems have been required to have a School Health Advisory Council. This demonstrates the proactive and truly visionary nature of Wake County's SHAC, which originated sixteen years earlier and continues to prosper today.
 

 

Why SHAC Matters
SHAC is important because establishing healthy behaviors in childhood is proven to be more effective than trying to change unhealthy behaviors during adulthood. Unhealthy behaviors such as tobacco use, poor food choices, inappropriate food portion size, inadequate physical activity, alcohol and drug use, and other behaviors can be prevented through early education and preventative measures. Parents and community members play an important role in establishing healthy behaviors in children. Schools, parents and community members can partner to reinforce the healthy knowledge and skills that children need. An effective coordinated school health program can contribute to increased academic performance, decrease absenteeism, and a decrease in health care costs. For more information on how nutrition and physical activity impact schools click on this link from Action for Healthy Kids.
 

Success Stories:

Does your school have a success story that you would like to share? We are collecting stories from the work you are doing that enhance the physical activity and nutrition environment in your school. Sharing your story can help others learn about your successful projects and gain ideas for implementation at their school. Any success is worth sharing, big or small, it all helps!

To report your school’s success story to us, use this success story template.

Featured Success Stories:

Willow Springs Elementary Fundraiser Walk-a-Thon: $7000 Raised

Thanks to parents Lesley Richmond and Megan Bidwell for sharing this success story!
Last fall (2010) was Willow Springs' first ever fundraiser walk-a-thon. With having over 800 kids in the school, we needed to think of a creative way to have everyone participate, so what we decided to do was have extended recess times. Every class room was given 40 minutes. 
We decided to ask kids to get donations from their family/friends to sponsor then in the walk. The kids walked a total of 20 minutes, and were given a rubber band for each time they crossed the start line. We wanted kids to be active and enjoy the proces, so when we divided the prizes, we gave them not only to those who raised the most money, but also to those kids who walked the most laps.
We had prizes from the juggling balls, to a free week of track out camp to the YMCA. We had healthy snacks provided for us by Food Lion, Kroger and Harris Teeter to fuel the children’s body after walking, (apples, oranges, and bananas). Medals were given to all children who participated, which they just loved. I overheard one child in the hallway say "It's even a REAL medal too!"  
With only having 200 kids send in donations, we were able to collect over $7000. When creating this program, we also worked with the PE teachers, to talk with the kids about goal- setting and preparing you for the event. It was created as a 4-week program, and the teachers were asked to send in the number of laps each class did. If they reached their goals, each class would receive a physical activity item for recess. This was a great way to get the kids use to walking, understand goal setting, and prepare them for the be event.
 The "Walk-A-Thon" Race packets were given to each child with information and coupons from local store who either donated something or provided a coupon for the parents to use at a later time. Also, for each lap the kids completed they were awarded a silly band, which really went over well with the kids. This was really a great event, and we look forward to making a few changes and making the event even bigger next year.
 
Willow Springs Elementary School’s Garden
The garden was started by Megan Lewis, a teacher at the school. She approached the principal with the idea and the garden took off from there. Several area businesses and community members offered support to help with the success of the garden. The school uses the garden to teach part of their curriculums in science, math, reading, writing, social studies, healthful living, guidance, technology skills, and arts education. The garden has been so successful that it has been featured on WRAL, The News & Observer, and the Wake County Public School systems website. The garden has been a huge success and provides an excellent learning opportunity for the students of Willow Springs elementary. One student said it best when he proclaimed, “Our garden is awesome!”
http://www.wsesgarden.webs.com/

 

 

Northwoods Elementary K-Force Running Club

The story of the K-Force running club starts with Stacy Dalness, a parent volunteer, at Northwoods Elementary. Stacy heard about similar running clubs for kids through friends and various websites and approached the school’s Principal for approval in May of 2009. During that summer, Stacy worked to get sponsors, donations, t-shirts, volunteers, and more.  K-Force was then kicked off in October of 2009 with 75 3rd-5th graders. The club began in October by meeting to run one mile each week for 26 weeks. If the kids made it to all of the meetings, they completed a marathon, which is 26.2 miles!  Members were awarded with shoe tokens when they accumulated 5, 10, 15, 20 & 25 miles. At the final race in May, members were awarded with medals honoring their achievements. Every student that finished was able to beat their beginning mile times from October, some even by 3 minutes! Stacy is just one example of how one person can make a difference to improve the well being of children.
What is your school doing to promote wellness? Take our survey and you might be featured on our website!