Healthy Active
Living and Learning
Theresa P. Cone, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Health and Exercise Science
Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ
Making It Work
 School
Goal #3
 A Coordinated Approach The Right Team
 Budget
 Implementation Let’s Take A Look
 Did It Work?
A School Goal
To promote healthy eating and
increase the level of physical
activity as a way to help
students be healthy active
learners.
Why?
Good health contributes to effective
learning and achievement
 Children are present in school
 Children feel good about themselves
 Children can maintain focus
 Children can deal with stress

Why?
Good health is the result of a comprehensive
outlook that includes home, community and
school
 The staff develops a healthy environment that
includes nutrition, safety, respect and physical
activity
 The family home encourages good nutrition
and promotes increased levels of physical
activity
 The community offers opportunities for active
participation in developing a healthy lifestyle

A Coordinated Approach
Comprehensive School Health Education
Physical Education program
Parent and community involvement
School health services
Counseling and psychological services
School nutrition services
Healthy school environment
Health promotion for staff
The Right Team
Administration
Principal, Assistant Principal
Faculty
Physical Education, Nurse,
Counselors and Classroom
Staff
Secretarial, Cafeteria,
Paraprofessionals, Custodial
Students
Pre K - 5
Parents/Community Parents, PTO
Budget
Ideal or Reality
or
Can they be the Same
The Solution may Not be out of reach.
Budget
Line
item resources
Shared resources
New resources
Implementation –
Let’s Take A Look
A successful program that incorporated
Health
Nutrition
Physical Activity
Activities and Events
Healthy Hero –
The “H”
 Bulletin Boards
 Pedometers
 Back to School Night
 Morning
Announcements
 Family Fitness Logs
 Artist in Residence

Monthly School
Newsletters
 Walking Club
 In School “Family”
Program
 Healthy Hero Players
Theatre
 Family FunChallenge and
Fitness Day

Earning the “H”: Branding
Health Heroes Lunch room visits
 Visit to Nurse
 School Assemblies and Healthy
Heroes Theater

Bulletin Boards
F
O
O
T
P
R
I
N
T
S
Bulletin Boards
S
T
O
P
&
G
O
Pedometers
3rd grade teacher and students
Morning Announcements
Be Happy and Be Healthy - Drink Water, Eat
right and Exercise
 Get up and get active. Join Health Hero 3
today for the Thursday Walking Club at
12:45 in front of the school.
 Breakfast boosts brainpower. Children who
eat breakfast are better able to remember
information, problem solve, and think than
those who skip breakfast.

Morning Announcements
Wake Up and Exercise. Try stretching,
jogging in place for one minute and doing
ten pushups and sit ups. You will start the
day feeling ready for action.
 Did you make your move? Check out the
bulletin board in the hallway outside the
gym to see what activities you like to do.

Family Fitness Logs
Eat Healthy*Be Active*Be Happy*Be Healthy
Free Prize to the First 25 Families that return the
form by (insert date)
Join in the fun during the break and take the
activity challenge.
 Can your family find a way to be active and
eat healthy each day of the break?
 Complete the back side of this page and write
in the activity your family did and the healthy
foods you ate.

Family Fitness Log
Date
Activity
How
Long
Mon
Walk
30 min
Dad,
Rachel
Tues
Basketball
60 min
Dad, Mom,
Billy
Wed
Family
Healthy
Members
Food
Carrots,
Milk
Family
Fitness
Log
Newsletters – District/School
It Only Takes A Moment






Take the stairs at the mall instead of the escalator.
Ask to park the car at the end of the parking and
briskly walk to the store.
Jog in place during commercials while watching TV.
Throw and catch a ball and see how many you can
do consecutively without dropping the ball.
Turn on an exercise video or an exercise TV show to
learn new moves.
Take a walk in the neighborhood and see how many
different leaves you can collect.
It Only Takes A Moment




Suspend a rope two feet off the ground and see how
many times you can move over and under the rope
in 30 seconds. Challenge a friend or family member.
At the next birthday party you attend, ask to play an
active outside game like tag, soccer or basketball.
Get up on the dance floor and move to the music.
Any kind of dancing is good for your body.
Try doing 25 – 40 sit ups each day to strengthen
your back and abdominal muscles. Remember to
keep your knees bent and hands can be touching
your shoulders instead of behind your head.
Family
Fun/Challenge and
Fitness Day
Healthy Communities
Healthy Youth
B e Healthy
A ctive
S mart
Family Fun and Fitness Day
• Each year Brunswick Acres School concludes the year
with a celebration of our school community through a
day filled with group games, individual and partner
games and arts activities. The June celebration
highlighted the Healthy Living and Learning initiative with
a day of outside group and individual physical activities.
The activities were conducted by 50 parent volunteers
and the faculty and staff. Students participated in over
40 different activities that challenged their coordination,
strength, cardiorespiratory endurance and flexibility in
addition to using their cooperation skills. The day
concluded with all students and faculty participating in a
variety of fun active social dances.
Assessment ?
Program Impact?
The planning team reviewed goals and
activities along the way.
 Collected information/data at the end of the
year from students, faculty and parents
 Developed Recommendations

K-1 – Healthy Snacks
K-1 – Bike Riding
Grades 2-5
1. Did you notice the healthy bulletin board in the
hallway outside the gym or the healthy tips
posters located throughout the school?
Grade
2
Affirmative
Response
58 %
3
41 %
4
72 %
5
63 %
Grades 2-5
2. Do you remember any of the morning
messages read three times a week?
Grade
2
Affirmative
Response
38 %
3
29 %
4
42 %
5
56 %
Grades 2-5
3. Describe what you did this year to increase
your physical activity.
Grade
Sample Response
2
played soccer, rode scooter
3
jumped rope, exercised at home
4
family fitness log, played badminton w/dad
5
watched less TV, jogged w/mom
Grades 2-5
4. Describe a healthy change you made in what
you eat and drink.
Grade
Sample Response
2
drank more water, ate bananas and milk
3
ate less chips, more carrots and cauliflower
4
ate baked chips, drank sugar free iced tea
5
ate more fruit and vegetables, less candy
Family Survey
This year the school adopted a goal to raise awareness in our students, staff and families about the
importance of an active lifestyle and healthy eating. To assess the success of our goal we need to
gather information from students, staff and the families. We ask that you take three minutes to
complete the following survey and drop it in the survey box located in the large gym. Thank you
for your help.
1. Circle the grade level(s) of your child or children:
K
1
2
3 4
5
2. Were you aware that Brunswick Acres School adopted a goal this year to raise
awareness in our school community about the health benefits of increased activity and
healthy eating?
Circle:
Yes
86%
No
3. Did you notice the articles on exercise and nutrition in the monthly Brunswick Acres
School Newsletters?
Circle
Yes
94 %
No
If yes, were they of interest or helpful?
Circle
Yes
85 %
No
4. Did you notice the bulletin board in the hallway or posters placed throughout the
school noting tips for healthy eating and activity?
Circle
Yes
76 %
No
5. Did your child or children mention any comments about the activities conducted at
school promoting healthy eating and increased activity?
Circle
Yes
82 %
No
Any additional comments or suggestions are welcomed. You can write them here or on
the back of the survey.
Staff Survey
This year the school adopted a goal to raise awareness in our students, staff and families about the
importance of an active lifestyle and healthy eating. To assess the success of our goal we need to
gather information from students, staff and the families. We ask that you take three minutes to
complete the following survey and place it in Theresa’s mailbox by June 10th. Thanks for your
help.
1. Did you notice the articles on exercise and nutrition in the monthly Brunswick Acres
School Newsletters?
Circle
Yes
93 %
No
If yes, were they of interest or helpful
Circle
Yes
100 %
No
2. Did you notice the bulletin board in the hallway or posters placed throughout the
school noting tips for healthy eating and activity?
Circle
Yes
100 %
No
3. Did your students mention any comments about the activities conducted at school
promoting healthy eating and increased activity?
Circle
Yes
60 %
No
If yes, please share some of the comments on the back of this paper
4. Did you have an opportunity to increase the activity level of your students or make a
change in their snack or lunch?
Circle
Yes
57 %
No
If yes, can you describe what you did?
5. Would you be interested in continuing with this initiative next year?
Circle
Yes
89 %
No
Additional comments or suggestions are welcomed.
Anecdotal Comments and Noted
Changes








The office staff reported a reduction in the amount of cake and
candy left in the mailroom.
Monthly faculty breakfasts included low calorie and low fat foods.
The lunch room paraprofessionals reported that the students were
eating more of the fruit offered on the lunch menu.
Classroom teachers encouraged healthy snacks with parents and
students.
Several classroom teachers included physical activity in the morning
meeting routine.
Each grade level had available a bag of equipment for lunchtime
recess. Students used the equipment for kickball, touch football,
soccer and jump rope games.
Students frequently commented to the physical education teachers
and the nurse that they were eating healthy foods, drinking more
water and being physically active outside of school.
Cafeteria services made healthy changes to the menu.
Thank You
Dear PTO Members,
We want to thank you again for your generous support toward the Healthy
Active Living and Learning initiative through the purchase of the pedometers.
We have received the pedometers and introduced them to the second grade
classes and this week to the fourth and fifth grade classes. Ms. Cashmore’s
class is using a set of the pedometers daily to motivate students to become
active as part of a class goal for the year. Her students walk and record their
progress as part of their daily routine along with learning in all subject areas.
All the students are excited about using this wonderful piece of technology
and seeing what they have accomplished. During the next few weeks, the
remaining classes and staff members will be introduced to the pedometers.
December will bring the kickoff of the lunchtime Walking club to encourage
students to be active during the winter months.
Thanks again for helping us achieve our school goal to increase awareness,
physical activity and promote good eating. We are making every effort to
fight the obesity epidemic that has become a health issue in our nation. We
want our children to be able to make healthy choices that will lead them to
be successful learners and enjoy a healthy future. Physical activity and good
nutrition are the best preventative measures we can all take to lower our risk
for disease. We know the pedometers will help our children to begin taking a
step in the right direction.
Acknowledgement
The HALL initiative was recognized as an
innovative program that positively impacted the
school community through the designed
activities and as a result received an award, a
grant and was highlighted in a district
newsletter.
 The HALL initiative was the recipient of the 2005
John W. Alexander Outstanding Project Award
presented by the Association for Children of New
Jersey. The award included $300.00 for funding
future projects.

Resources
http://www.kidsrunning.com/
 http://www.girlpower.gov/
 http://www.goactive.com/
 http://www.shapeup.org/
 http://www.projectfitamerica.org/
 Theresa Cone (conet@rowan.edu or
tscone@comcast.net)

Healthy Heroes
Principal
Health Hero
1
Student
Awarded
H’s