By

Jena Graham,   Hudson Elementary School

Play:

Topics:

Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership, Success with Funds,  Teamwork

With this being our second year, our Ambassadors were highly motivated and excited about continuing what we started last year. They were also excited about the challenge ahead and about what they could do this school year. Being a part of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program has been amazing. We have seen such leadership from our Ambassadors and complete excitement and support from the rest of our school. They have felt proud and accomplished much success this year. They were eager to implement a new play this year and really wanted to focus on getting kids moving. They picked the In-class Physical Activity Breaks. They used our grant money to buy equipment that could be checked out by all teachers in our building. They then put together a shared document for google drive, where teachers could easily check out the equipment. They inventoried their equipment and then went around to each classroom to demonstrate the proper use of all equipment.  The Ambassadors loved getting into the classrooms and the other students seemed more excited about the equipment because of it. They have also made posters and announcements to promote their play. Being able to walk through the hallways and see students and teachers take those in-class breaks, made our Ambassadors feel proud. It has only given them more motivation and they have already started talking about what equipment they want to add and what they plan to do next.

How do you plan to make this Play last during the school year and beyond?

Our Ambassadors plan on sending out reminder emails to teachers about the equipment we have. They want to continue making announcements in the morning, so students stay excited about using the equipment. They want to go into classrooms again next to demonstrate how to use the equipment correctly. They also want to make videos of them using the equipment, so teachers can show students if our Ambassadors are not able to come into the rooms.

What improvements have you seen at your school?

The biggest improvement we have seen is the excitement of the whole school. They are excited to try new healthy foods. They are excited about checking out the equipment. Students enjoy sharing when they do things that are active and healthy. The Ambassadors believe they have seen students eating less sugar and making better food choices. Students want to go to recess and they are active while they are out there. They feel very supported from the teachers in our building.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Our Ambassadors feel very supported by the teachers and love that teachers will come talk to them and ask them questions about Fuel up to Play 60. They were excited that teachers used the check out system so quickly. They feel as if the advisors have helped them a lot, but have also let them take the responsibility and have given them the chance to be real leaders.