Bay Area
Regional Award Winner
Regional Award Winner
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Rancho Las Positas Elementary submitted the following three essays for consideration of the Governor's Challenge Competition Grand Prize: Essay 1 - Commitment to Promoting Healthy Eating on Campus A recent study at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory has determined that the number of fat cells in a human’s body, whether lean or obese, is established during the teenage years. Changes in fat mass in adulthood can be attributed mainly to changes in fat cell volume, not an increase or decrease in the actual number of fat cells. Based on this, the most important years for our students are now! RAncho Las Positas’ Wellness (RAW) mission is to educate and inspire our students to be physically fit now and, as a result, for life! RAW consists of two pillar programs, each with equal value. The first program is the Nutritional Awareness Program (NAP). NAP is equally if not more impressive than athletic achievements. Rancho has always been motivated to provide a nutritional education to our students, however, the Governor’s Challenge has stimulated us to expand our offerings. The following is an overview of our Nutritional Awareness efforts: • Rancho Healthy Student Nutrition Review – Students challenged to record what they eat over a one-week period. The objective is to introduce awareness. • Rancho Garden – Parents, staff and student’s gardening activities are aligned with grade level standards. Students enjoy harvesting and eating the fruits of their labors. • Healthy Eating Tips – Weekly newsletter, PTA Newsletter and Lunch Calendar • Rancho Nutritional Awareness Month – Every April • District Guidance - Influenced district to plan meals based on the food pyramid • MyPyramid Staff, Student and Parent Education- Lesson plans, flyers and posters in classes and home Rancho believes that establishing healthy eating habits at a young age is pivotal to student health. Rancho is committed to continuing with our current programs as well as exploring new opportunities in expanding nutritional awareness for our students. Rancho Slogan: Wild raccoons eat garbage, but that doesn’t mean we should! Essay 2 - Support of Students’ Physical Activity and Fitness The second pillar of RAncho Wellness (RAW) is the Friendship Athletic SocieTy (FAST). FAST recognizes that fitness levels vary, so we created an atmosphere that supports growth and personal/team achievement. Students are rewarded for achievement and for supporting others. FAST consists of the following programs: • Running Program Implemented District Wide – Rancho led the implementation of the running program across the Livermore school district. There are currently seven Livermore schools using the program and more that are interested. • Raccoon Running Club – The Rancho running program started in November, 2006. Since its inception, 500+ students have run over 71,000 miles (around the world 3 times). Over the 2007-2008 school year students ran 41,000 measured miles or 80 miles per student. This is over 164,000 laps around a quarter mile “dirt” track. Almost every child ran a marathon and the top student ran 450 miles! • Run-A-Thon – We have sponsored an annual fundraiser with students running for an hour to raise money for school programs. • Chart and Challenge – Over 300 kids have participated in the challenge to test upper body strength doing pull-ups, pole climb and horizontal ladder. They were awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. • Project Fit America – During PE, students use the Project Fit America equipment to develop upper body and core strength. • Monthly Family Fitness Day – On this day, children, parents and staff run/walk before school begins. • Annual Rancho 5k Day – Rancho had over 80 participants in the Grapestomp 5k. • Rancho Forever – Staff collaborates with the middle and high schools to handoff our student athletes. • Rancho Mentor Program – Rancho established a mentor program for high school student athletes to mentor our elementary students. • Range of Activities – Rancho students participate in running, dance, kickball, adaptive PE, Capture the Flag, pull-ups and a range of many other activities. Rancho FAST is committed to developing students who are physically and mentally healthy. We believe that children who develop a love of athletics and fitness will sustain that love for life. Healthy children are more likely to have happy and productive lives. Essay 3- Need For a New Fitness Center Last year a school that won a region, Meiners Oaks, stated that their school was the only safe place for families to bring their children after school and on weekends. The overall challenge winner, Marvin Elementary, is exposed to toxic gases and fumes due to proximity to the freeway. Rancho Las Positas does not have this problem. We are located in Livermore, California. Livermore is a relatively safe location, with an abundance of parks and city programs for children. Rancho is not the most affluent school. We have recently accepted playground equipment from one of our closed schools. We are constantly battling budget issues like a lot of schools in our state. Rancho could definitely use the fitness center to evolve our Wellness programs. However, we are not the most in need. As a result, Rancho would be willing to donate the fitness center to another inner city school in the Bay Area. Our children are young and impressionable. They are committed to being nutritionally and physically fit. Producing well-rounded students is more than academics, nutrition and athletics, but teaching benevolence and other positive traits. Rancho deserves to win the Governor’s Challenge for our nutritional and athletic accomplishments. We are making an impact within our school, inspiring our district and hopefully our region and state! We are the standard by which all other winners should be measured! |
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