Healthful Living Update
This month the updates offers a lot of opportunities, please be sure to scroll through the entire document.
 Carolina Panthers Educator Appreciation
Join the Carolina Panthers for their NFL Week 17 game against the Seattle Seahawks. Tickets are $81 per person and come with a Panthers limited edition Educator Appreciation Shirt.
Carolina Panthers Educator Appreciation Offer
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Date: NFL Week 17 (Date TBD)
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Time: TBD
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Location: Bank of America Stadium
How to Secure Your Tickets: You have two convenient options:
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PURCHASE HERE: CAROLINA PANTHERS EDUCATOR APPRECIATION OFFER
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If you plan to purchase 10+ tickets blocked together, Matthew White can assist you personally. Please email him at Matthew.White@panthers.nfl.com or give him a call or text at (704) 358-7048, to ensure a smooth ticket transaction process for your group. Groups of 10+ will receive additional discounts and benefits.
New Standards
Implementation Office Hours
The 2025-2026 academic year will witness the implementation of the new Healthful Living Standards. As districts engage in the transition, office hours will be available throughout the year to support this process. During these sessions, participants will be given the opportunity to pose questions, explore resources, and learn how other districts are implementing the new Healthful Living Standards.
Session #4
January 20
3:30 – 4:30 pm
Registration
NCDPI Healthful Living
Webinar Series
Health Education Policy and Legislative Update
This session discusses the current NC Statutes and State Board Policies associated with Health Education while providing updates on the requirements for Health Education.
January 28, 2026
3:30 4:30 pm
Registration
Save the Dates
Find Gratitude Through Movement
This month in physical education, we’re celebrating the power of gratitude, kindness, and teamwork through our Gratitude Games!
These activities invite students to move, play, and connect while reflecting on what they’re thankful for and how they can show kindness to others. Through cooperative challenges, team relays, and meaningful reflection, students learn that movement builds strong bodies and strong hearts.
Go To The Games
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Instant PE Fun
Looking for quick and engaging ways to start class? Dice Games are the perfect addition to our Instant Activities module. Designed to energize students and promote teamwork from the moment they enter the gym.
With just a few dice, students jump, toss, dribble, and cheer their way through challenges that build cooperation, communication, and fitness.
View K-5
View 6-12
Fun Start Move Smart
Learning to Move, Moving to Learn Resource Guide (2023)
Be sure to scroll down the left side and down to the bottom of each Page as the site is packed with resources.
Website
 Opportunity #1
New Online Course Helps Professionals Address Youth Gambling, Gaming, and Digital Media Risks
The Adolescent Gambling and Gaming Series is a new online course designed to help behavioral health professionals and youth-serving organizations respond to the growing risks of adolescent gambling, gaming, and digital media use.
Developed by UNC Behavioral Health Springboard (UNC-BHS) in collaboration with Alison Wood of the NC Problem Gambling Program and subject matter experts, the course offers a practical, evidence-based approach to prevention, screening, and treatment.
Research shows:
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15–20% of youth gamble regularly
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2–8% show signs of problematic gambling
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Online gambling and sports betting are rapidly expanding
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Gamified and Gamblified platforms reinforce risky behaviors through dopamine-triggering mechanics
These trends are linked to rising rates of anxiety, depression, substance use, family instability, and suicide ideation among youth.
This is the first course to connect gambling, gaming, and digital media use as overlapping high-risk behaviors. It’s interactive, engaging, and accessible to professionals in schools, juvenile justice, and community organizations.
Register for the course: Adolescent Gambling and Gaming Series | Behavioral Health Springboard
Registration Flyer
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Opportunity #2
New Youth Gambling Prevention Curriculum Reviewers Needed
Stipend Available
The North Carolina Problem Gambling Program has teamed up with subject matter experts to create new youth problem gambling prevention curriculum. However, the curriculum is not just for those who work in the problem gambling space! It focuses on preventing high-risk behaviors, substance misuse, and addictions by engaging youth in conversations around the neurobiology and neuropsychology of engaging in behaviors that promote a healthy and integrated brain while empowering them with media literacy and mental health literacy skills. We are looking for teachers who can engage by providing feedback on the curriculum during 10 virtual sessions starting in January of 2026. Stipends will be provided to teachers to engage in the virtual sessions. In addition, there will be a grant announcement in March of 2026 for middle schools, high schools, and community organizations who work directly with youth to apply for a grant to teach the curriculum and engage in research to help advance the curriculum to become evidence based. Please reach out to Alison Wood at alison.wood@dhhs.nc.gov to learn more.
New Curriculum Flyer
 The Healthful Living Consultant at the NC Department of Public Instruction makes every effort to provide relevant, timely information to stakeholders collected from numerous state and national sources. The inclusion of items in this update does not imply the endorsement of this agency.
To contact Burt Jenkins NCDPI Healthful Living Consultant
burt.jenkins@dpi.nc.gov
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