A St. Albert school got some big bucks this week for its work to help get kids moving.
Bertha Kennedy Catholic Community School received a $5,000 grant from the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund Thursday. The fund is a joint initiative of Alberta Health, the University of Alberta and the Alberta Coalition for Healthy School Communities.
The cash was meant to support the school’s Healthy BobKats Project. The project, which started last January, is meant to encourage fitness and healthy eating habits in students.
The school has done everything so far out of its own pocket, said Dolores Andressen, lead teacher on the initiative, but applied for this grant in October to do more. “This is an exciting day for us, and not just because it’s Milk and Cookies Day.”
Bertha Kennedy was one of only eight schools to get this grant this year, said Karen Matson, a former graduate of the school and spokesperson for the wellness fund. “It was one of the easiest ones to award,” she added, as the school had done extensive work to promote healthy living, eating and socialization.
A 2011 analysis by Statistics Canada found that just seven per cent of children got the 60 minutes of sweat-inducing activity they needed per day to stay fit. The 2009 REAL Kids Alberta study found that about 29 per cent of Grade 5 students in Alberta were obese.
Student surveys at Bertha Kennedy flagged other trends of concern, Andressen said. “The children aren’t eating enough servings of fruits and vegetables or grains, and they’re not getting their 60 minutes of activity during the day.”
Kids spend a lot of time in front of the TV, said Jacquie Hansen, president of the Alberta School Boards Association, and are at increasing risk of obesity. “It’s up to adults, teachers and parents to collaborate and get our kids off the ground and moving.”
Healthy BobKats has had students plant gardens to learn about healthy snacks, Andressen said, try out Zumba, eat bananas on Banana Day, jump rope to raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation and take part in the Mayor’s Fun Run.
They also held community-wide events such as last summer’s Walk Across Canada, during which students, parents and Mayor Nolan Crouse strapped on pedometers to collectively walk 17.8 million steps in 40 days – equivalent to walking from Newfoundland to B.C. to St. Albert.
The goal of all this is to get kids to form healthy habits now that will stick with them as they grow up, Andressen said. “We’re trying to make it a culture of good health.”
So far, it seems to be working: Andressen said the students are definitely interested in the new activities, and seem to be bringing more nutritious food to class.
The school plans to use this grant to hold a month’s worth of Zumba classes, Andressen said, ones that will also be open to parents after school. They also plan to purchase fitness toys such as juggling scarves and to get stencils to spray-paint more games onto the play-court. “It will definitely make (students) more active, and they will enjoy moving.”
Hansen said she appreciated the school’s emphasis on spontaneous play and movement, as it showed kids that they don’t have to take part in organized sports to keep fit. “It doesn’t have to be hockey.”
Parents have to get in on the act too, she added. “Parents are the models of our kids,” she said, and if they’re active, so are the kids.
She applauded the school’s long-time commitment to fitness during the grant presentation Thursday. “You’re really leaders in the whole province.”
The school plans to review the impact of Healthy BobKats later this school year, Andressen said.
