By

Bobbie Jo Sheridan ,   Lovejoy Elementary School

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Student Leadership

This year Lovejoy Elementary started an after school Fit Club! The club meets twice per week with one day focused on nutrition and the other on physical fitness. Students in Kindergarten through 5th grade participate in the club. Club activities have included: cooking health meals, nutrition education, fitness bingo, outdoor fitness, gardening, and student education education. Students also created a peer campaign to encourage other students to choose healthy options at lunch and drink their milk. This club also promotes our “Kidstriders” walking program, where students walk a marathon. We have approximately 35 students in the club.

How did students and adults work together as a team?

Students are truly the leaders and innovators of Fit Club! The adults provide guidance and materials needed, but students truly think of ways to educate their classmates to make healthy choices. Adults are also able to provide students the education needed to make their programs successful!

What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

Our challenge was finding time during the day to pull students to be part of a Fit Club. We determined that an after school program was our best avenue to solve this barrier. We have roughly 35 students who participate and we pay for busing to get them home after programming.

What improvements have you seen at your school?

Students are truly the leaders of this club! Because students want to listen to other students we use our Fit Club to provide peer education and campaigns for their classmates. We've seen more students trying new foods and students trying healthier food options!