December 2019
In this issue:
Dani Wood is a physical education teacher at Dover Public Schools in Dover, Oklahoma. Dover is a small, rural town in Kingfisher county with a population of around 470. Since Dani was hired in 2018, she has been busy writing grants because the school didn’t have many physical education resources when she arrived. She believes it is important to provide students with a wide variety of learning experiences outside of the norm. Therefore, Dani wrote a grant for lacrosse equipment through U.S. Lacrosse. Dani states, “It’s great to introduce students to something that they’ve never tried. Why would you pass up an opportunity to expose students to other physical activities?” In that same spirit, she wrote a pickleball grant through Selkirk Pickleball which required a community partner. Trilla Cranford, Dover’s elementary principal and avid tennis player, was quick to volunteer her services to teach pickleball during the afterschool program. Students are also offered before-school physical activity opportunities with the running club. With help from the Marathon Kids and AMPED grants, running club participants have ID cards that allow Dani's phone to scan and track student progress with digital lap tracking technology. Dani received a $30,000 “Riding for Focus” grant from the OUTRIDE Foundation to buy 26 bicycles for middle school students. She says, “It’s amazing to watch the faces of middle school students laughing and smiling as they ride around the block on the bikes. Our students are being active and developing lifelong healthy habits.”
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Additionally, after revamping Dover’s Wellness Policy, Dani received two TSET grants which funded an Action Based Learning (ABL) Lab and a tower garden. Classroom teachers take their students to the ABL lab throughout the week to embed movement into academics. The tower garden will be used to grow fresh fruits and vegetables. Students have had other unique learning experiences like incorporating yoga into the classroom and movement into math lessons as a result of receiving the Yoga Fosters and Math and Movement grants. Last, but not least, Dani received a Kids Heart Challenge grant to purchase physical education equipment.
Dover may be a small town, but the administration and teachers' efforts to provide students with rich learning experiences are mighty. Dani Wood's efforts to improve the health and well being of her students demonstrate initiative and perseverance! Keep up the great work!
Here are a few other grant and funding opportunities worth checking out: Health Moves Minds, Good Sports Equipment grants, OAHPERD grant, and Greenfield Outdoor Fitness School Incentive Program.
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Did you know that Oklahoma’s state plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) focuses on the whole child? Oklahoma recognizes that by focusing on the whole child, schools are building a strong foundation, expanding educational opportunities, and preparing our students for life. The focus of the OKHealth & P.E. newsletter will be to provide resources and information on the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model's ten components. Check out the WSCC model and see if your school community is addressing the whole child through the ten components.
2019 December Fitness Challenge Calendar is here!
The Alliance For A Healthier Generation created this fitness calendar for the month of December 2019. Click the calendar for the download.
Free Physical Education Resources
PEKansas provides free K-12 P.E. resources that are aligned with the National PE Standards. This website also includes recess games and brain breaks that would be useful for classroom teachers.
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Free Tobacco Use Prevention Resource
Have you heard of the free health education resource called CATCH My Breath? It is a best-practices youth E-cigarette and JUUL prevention program developed by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health. The program provides up-to-date information to teachers, parents, and health professionals to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to make informed decisions about the use of E-cigarettes, including JUUL devices. CATCH My Breath utilizes a peer-led teaching approach and meets National and State Health Education Standards. Check out CATCH My Breath and enroll for this free program.
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Teach Kindness: Free Evidence-Based SEL Curriculum
Teach Kindness is an easy and no-cost way to foster kindness and improve school climate in grades K-8. Teach Kindness offers best-in-class resources, free of charge, to teach and foster kindness over a four-week period of the school’s choosing. Teachers and other participating school staff will receive ongoing access to outstanding kindness-building lesson plans following the successful completion of Teach Kindness. By teaching kids how to practice kindness, be more empathetic, and manage their emotions and actions, they become better equipped to navigate our complex world.
For questions, contact Steve Hahn.
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Teacher well-being is a critical part of school health and should not be underestimated. There are many benefits of employee wellness programs:
- Decreased employee absenteeism (and cost for substitutes)
- Lower health care and insurance costs
- Increased employee retention
- Improved employee morale
- Increased productivity
- Increased motivation to practice healthy behaviors
- Increased motivation to teach about health and wellness
- Healthy role models for students
- Positive community image
- Attractiveness to prospective employees
Start small and try incentives that are free! Check out this resource called “Wellness on a Shoestring” for ideas.
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Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health
Parent engagement in schools is defined as parents and school staff working together to support and improve the learning, development, and health of children and adolescents. Engaging parents in their children’s school life is a promising protective factor. Research shows that parent engagement in schools is closely linked to better student behavior, higher academic achievement, and enhanced social skills.
Visit the Center for Disease Control's web page for Parent Engagement: Strategies for Involving Parents in School Health.
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Physical education and health teachers are providing amazing experiences for students! Please share what you are doing, so it can be shared with colleagues across the state! If you would like to be featured in next month’s newsletter or would like to nominate a colleague, please email shana.classen@sde.ok.gov. I will reach out to you for a phone interview!
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