November 27, 2009
An emphasis on wellness
Students at St. Philip are learning lessons on diet and exercise
Upper grade students Hayden Knapp and Wyatt Seng escort Evan Seng, center, during the morning walking club at St. Philip School in Posey County. Click for a larger version.
By MARY ANN HUGHES (Message staff writer)
Over at St. Philip School they are trying to build a safer, healthier community in two important ways. First, the teachers are educating their students about healthy ways to eat, and second, the students – at all grade levels – are being encouraged to spend time exercising.
Andrea Lodato Dickel is the principal of the Posey County school, which recently received a $31,766 grant from Welborn Baptist Foundation, Inc., to use for its ongoing health initiatives.
“We are trying to make people more aware of their choices, and how that affects their future as far as health,” Dickel said.
That includes a new focus on what the students eat when they are at school, she said. The school has requested that parents no longer send treats for birthdays, she said, noting all the donuts, cookies, cakes, brownies and ice cream treats which were arriving on a daily basis. “The kids were learning to eat junk all the time. It was not a treat. It was an everyday event.”
For Christmas parties, the school suggests that the room mothers offer “healthy treats,” items such as fruit kabobs, trail mix and veggies and dip along with traditional goodies.
The school cafeteria has also adapted to the new guidelines. “We were fairly healthy anyway,” the principal said, but now the children are offered new foods at lunchtime, items like sweet potato fries, vegetable medlies and whole wheat tortillas.
Also, as part of the health initiative, students are being encouraged to exercise more. There’s now a running club after school for the older students, and a walking club every morning from 7 to 7:20 a.m. for everyone. As the children arrive in the morning, they gather in the gym and walk in groups.
Jon Day is the school’s physical education and health teacher. He says that having all the students involved in early morning exercise has impacted their behavior during the school day. “I think the behavior has been better. They come in ready to learn after they walk in the morning.”
Last year, he headed up the “Step Up Club” two days a week. Of the 180 plus students in the school, 60 to 70 stayed after school to run, walk or jog around the school for 25 to 30 minutes.
This year, he started a cross country team for students in grades five through eight. They meet twice a week for 30 minutes.
Because of the grant money, he was able to purchase a basketball and a soccer ball for every student. He also purchased heart rate monitors, and taught the students “how to get in their target heart rate zone, to get the most out of exercise. Now they know how hard to exercise to get the most out of it.”
The grant is for three years, and there are plans to purchase treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes next year. These would be used by students during the school day, and by the community at other times. “It’s not just a school grant,” Day said. “It’s a community grant.”
Dickel said the program has been “a great thing for the school. I think it’s a great thing for the community.” Of the staff she said, “Everybody is on board.”
Day agreed, adding, “It’s a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding.”
The Posey County school was the only Catholic school among recipients in Gibson, Posey, Dubois and Vanderburgh counties for the health initiative.
The foundation awarded a total of 51 grants to tri-state not-for-profit organizations, totaling approximately $2.79 million. Grants included the following:
- St. Vincent’s Day Care Center received $20,000 for support for the Office of Advancement, which will help stabilize the financial picture of the agency, promote financial independence, secure a future for the mission and services provided for those in need, and allow the agency to diversify services in the future, while strengthening current services for families and children.
- The Juan Diego Latino Center, located at Nativity Church in Evansville, received $15,000. The money will be used to improve the delivery of health services and provide bi-lingual information to 1,000 Latino infants, adolescents and parents, with 4,000 client contacts, in Vanderburgh, and Warrick counties.