OSKALOOSA COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPPORTS THE 100 DAY CHALLENGE
Healthiest State Initiative
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Oskaloosa Community School District is participating in the Live Healthy Iowa 100 Day Challenge. For the past month, the Mahaska Wellness Coalition (MWC) has encouraged the community to live happier and healthier. Community members have eagerly been signing up and joining the 100 Day Challenge. Oskaloosa schools are “leading the charge” with over 1600 students involved in this challenge! 1,100 Elementary and 597 Middle School students are participating. The High School also has teams and is encouraging the facility and staff to join. It is not too late to start a team or join one of the communities 71 existing teams.
During the first month, the kids are tracking activity and fruit servings. The second month the kids will track activity and vegetable servings. The last month will focus on activity, milk intake and screen time reduction.
Our kids at the elementary school are very excited to join this challenge. Allison Ketter, past food service director, noticed when the program started, “a lot more requests for fruit since it began!” Matthew Dunsbergen, 2nd and 3rd grade principal, added, “The Live Healthy Iowa Kids Challenge has been great for our school. Raising awareness of the importance of eating healthy and exercising has had and will continue to have a positive impact on our students and school.”
The Oskaloosa Elementary school kicked off the 100 Day Challenge by wearing fitness gear the first week and doing the UNI Interlude dance after announcements every day. The dance is so popular and had such an influence, that the school has decided to let the kids continue to perform it every Friday.
Numerous teachers have also joined the challenge and agreed to keep records for the students and record activity minutes. The students can turn in at-home activity and have those minutes added to the schools’. Parents are encouraging and joining with their children for this challenge. “Our first reporting period is coming to an end in one week. It will be good to see how the activity times tally and how the kids have responded to the first month,” stated Jennifer Peterson, Oskaloosa Elementary teacher. She too says that she has heard a lot more talk of fruit from the youth this month!
Anyone can still join in the fun. Go to www.livehealthyiowa.org to register or contact Dawn Collins at the YMCA 641-673-8411 – dawn.collins@mahaskaymca.org or Deann DeGroot at the Chamber 641-672-2591 – ddegroot@oacdg.org for more information.
