Gold Coast
Regional Award Winner
Regional Award Winner
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University Preparation School submitted the following three essays for consideration of the Governor's Challenge Competition Grand Prize: Essay 1 - Commitment to Promoting Healthy Eating on Campus UPS has made a fervent and comprehensive commitment to promoting healthy eating on campus. Our multifaceted approach includes nutrition education, access to healthier foods, and promoting a culture of health and wellbeing. A nutrition specialist teaches a 6-week unit to each class that promotes healthy eating. During this course students are able to make and sample nutritious foods and ingredients as well as participate in growing a school organic garden. Teachers don’t allow unhealthy snacks on campus and many provide fresh fruits, vegetables or other healthy snacks to their students daily. At class parties healthy alternatives such as fruit salads and veggie trays are found. For after school clubs and morning Brain Breaks, parents and volunteers provide healthy snacks instead of sugary ones. To encourage the idea that perfect attendance is connected with a healthy lifestyle, attendance awards are no longer doughnuts but rather a fresh fruit or vegetable with a pencil and certificate. The UPS lunch room has also seen significant changes. A salad bar was implemented. Cookies have been replaced with a variety of fresh fruit being served daily. Raw carrots with low calorie ranch dressing and cooked vegetables are served. Chips, when given, are of the baked variety. All cereals are reduced sugar, and all meat is turkey based. To promote healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle outside of school, a monthly health challenge calendar with daily challenges is sent home. Challenges might include eating a salad or fruit, no fast food Fridays, or engaging in physical activity. Monthly PE assemblies are held where students who complete the challenge can receive sports equipment prizes and trial memberships Taekwondo studios. At UPS students are excited to brag about the healthy lunch items they eat and counsel their classmates or even adults when they see unhealthy choices being consumed. Essay 2 - Support of Students’ Physical Activity and Fitness UPS has developed a creative, successful fitness program. Intimately tied to the philosophy of educating the whole child, it incorporates personal responsibility, fitness education and a bit of competition. In our innovative environment, opportunities for physical activity flourish, motivating students to engage in physical activity now and throughout their lifetime. The fitness program at UPS has a distinctive focus on personal responsibility and achievement. Students maintain a PE portfolio where they track their personal fitness on various measures and regularly assess their fitness based on individual goals. Before school, students participate in morning workouts. In the Fitness Finders Mileage program students earn tokens for miles run. The top mileage classes earn a monthly “Big Shoe” award. Through this successful program we have run over 26,000 miles. Some students run 1-2 miles daily; many have accumulated nearly 100 miles for the year. During biweekly PE class, students actively learn sportsmanship and teamwork, often through non-traditional activities such as yoga, Speedstacks, and lacrosse. Further, physiology, musculature and the cardiovascular system are emphasized at all grade levels. Classroom teachers integrate physical activities into their teaching methods. 4/5 students practice math multiples as they stretch and run. Kindergarten-third grade classes run before morning recess. Brain Gym, marching poetry and marching math also link academic learning to physical activity. After school programs have also flourished: six basketball teams, track, and cross country participated in local competitions. Specialty programs complement our array of activities: Taekwondo studio trips, PTA Fun Run & 5k, monthly Health Challenge Calendar, field days, annual hike for 4/5 students. At the institutional level, both school and PTA budgets give priority to PE program needs, including annual funding for a PE teacher, equipment needs, and a Peaceful Playgrounds coach during recess. UPS is dedicated to inspiring students to care about their fitness. Essay 3- Need For a New Fitness Center A fitness center would benefit not only UPS students but also the adjacent middle school and County Special Education program for children with autism. The fitness center would benefit families through our Family Resource Center. While our community has consistently scored higher than county and state on fitness tests, there is a need to focus on improvement for some significant subgroups. A fitness center would allow a holistic approach. 60% of our population is Hispanic. In 2006/07: • only 55% of the Hispanic subgroup passed body composition compared to 92.9% of our white subgroup • 57.5% passed aerobic capacity to 85.7 % of white subgroup • 65% passed upper body strength to 92.9% of white subgroup These weakest areas could be significantly improved with a fitness center. Although a substantial percentage of our students are socio-economically disadvantaged (38-45%), because we are not over 75% these disadvantaged students and families do not have access to many programs that support their needs. Very few of these families can afford league team, dance or gymnastic classes. A fitness center for UPS would close this funding gap and prepare students for high school sports and other athletics. Through Family Resource Center neighborhood families would have to access the fitness center. The fitness center is needed to support programs in place and to allow us to take students to the next fitness level. The center would provide a quality option during inclement weather. Strength exercises are currently limited to lifting body weight. A fitness center would provide a variety of weight resistant exercises. Cardio is currently limited to load bearing exercises, with a center students could use fitness cycles and other cardio equipment. Diversity of exercise brings increased motivation. A fitness center supports our mission of teaching kids life long fitness habits. |
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