By

Matt Serr,   Elton Hills Elementary School

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Topics:

Community Involvement, Physical Activity Participation, Student Leadership,  Teamwork

Elton Hills Elementary School combined our FUTP 60 Kickoff event with Walk to School Day on October 7, 2015. Many students and families either walked or rode bikes to school. Upon arriving, students, siblings, parents, and friends were invited to join my FUTP 60 student leadership team in walking/running laps. For each lap they completed, students received a "footy" that they placed on their shoe lace. Just before it was time to go in, one of my FUTP 60 team leaders used the megaphone to make an announcement that went something like this......"Good morning wellness champions! Today’s the day to start treating our bodies right. It’s not like we’ve got some spare parts lying around – these are the only ones we’ve got. And they need us right now! We need to start making smart decisions about eating healthy and staying active. This isn’t rocket science, you know. You wouldn’t litter the environment with garbage and junk. Think of your body like that – keep it healthy. This year, our school is one of more than 73,000 schools across the country that have joined Fuel Up to Play 60. This is the second year in a row that Elton Hills is part of the Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Fuel Up to Play 60 was developed by the National Dairy Council and the NFL. We’ll tell you more about it later, but for now, let’s keep it healthy, okay? Thanks for participating in our Walk to School and Fuel Up to Play 60 Kickoff day!"

How did students and adults work together as a team?

I set up the meeting for students. All of my team members were on time for the meeting and started making posters right away to promote FUTP 60 and our Kickoff event.

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

One of the challenges with promoting the physical activity in the classrooms is simply getting every teacher to "buy into it." Many teachers will be hesitant to try it so I plan on going into classrooms to demonstrate.