DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NUTRITION COUNCIL OF OREGON
Winners
School Wellness Award Winners 2008 – Present
Each year Oregon Department of Education selects 3 winners of the School Wellness Award. Oregon schools who are actively working to improve student and staff wellness choose to apply. Applications are reviewed by a Blue Ribbon Panel, appointed by Superintendent Saxton. The panel narrows down the applicants and Superintendent Saxton makes the final selection.
As sponsor of the Awards, Nutrition Education Services/Oregon Dairy Council provides $2,500 and a recognition banner for each winner. Nutrition Educators from Oregon Dairy Council offer additional resources and support for winning schools throughout the year.
School Wellness Policies are required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from school districts receiving federally-funded school meals. These School wellness policies set goals for school-based activities that promote healthy eating, daily physical activity, and other wellness behaviors. Individual schools must implement the district policy, but can also go beyond the policy to improve student health.
2014 Winning Schools
Lynch View Elementary School, Centennial School District
Lynch View takes a community view at their school, helping to ensure students and their families have the resources they need to be healthy, happy and at school every day. Lynch View offers nutritious foods for breakfast, lunch, after-school snack and for SUN dinner. Once a week a food pantry is available for families. School opens 10 minutes early to ensure students have up to 30 minutes to enjoy breakfast, which is available free to everyone and up to 150 students eat breakfast at school daily. Including more physical activity into the school day has helped students take a mental break and reengage in academics.
Having a District Wellness Coordinator has been a big help in building an outstanding wellness program. The wellness committee works to help staff make the natural connections between creating a school environment that promotes health and wellness and students performing at their academic best.
Lincoln Elementary School, Corvallis School District
Lincoln Elementary School ties nutrition education with academic standards. Staff integrates activities in partnership with the Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Nutrition Education Program, the OSU Healthy Youth Program and the Farm to School program to teach healthy food choices and promote physical activity. Lincoln’s Breakfast in the Classroom program has reduced attention and behavior issues, improved attendance and contributes to improved academic performance.
Students and staff are active at Lincoln. Movement breaks throughout the day, three daily recess periods and one hour of PE/week combined with Jump Rope for Heart, Walk and Bike to School/Safe Routes to School and afterschool movement and exercise classes teach students the value of daily activity.
Crescent Valley High School, Corvallis School District
At Crescent Valley High School staff believes healthy students lead to healthy and growing minds. Wellness efforts through school nutrition programs and wellness policy are the first step toward creating and maintaining the healthiest environment possible for students. Specifically, the school nutrition program ensures every student has the opportunity to receive a nutritious meal before and during school.
School Wellness Council efforts have directly increased physical activity on campus through yoga classes and
intramurals for students. Staff members have increased their activity and are role modeling positive health behaviors for students which has significantly increased the credibility of wellness efforts.
2 of 4 The district’s wellness policy directs the School Wellness Council, school staff, parents and community members in promoting the best learning environment possible through intentional efforts at increasing healthy behavior, attitudes and surroundings.
2013 Winning Schools
Benson Polytechnic High School, Portland Public Schools
Benson students start their day off strong with “Breakfast after the Bell” which provides breakfast at no charge to any student who wants it. Student focus groups provide input on cafeteria menus to keep offerings both healthy and enticing and led to signage that is now used in school cafeterias throughout the district to promote good choices. The school highlights local, seasonal produce through the “Harvest of the Month” program and provides nutrition education through a range of activities and programs including the after-school Chef’s Club, Teen Battle Chef, the school garden, and HealthCorps lessons.
Staff serves as healthy role models through participation in a range of activities including healthy living workshops, wellness challenges, nutrition counseling, and exercise classes. Students have 30 minutes of physical fitness
development daily and an additional 30-40 minutes of movement activities three days a week. They also have before and after-school exercise options ranging from Tai Chi and yoga to kickboxing and step aerobics. Students create personal fitness goals, analyze their results, and have regular progress check-ins. The goal is to help students find fitness activities and healthy foods that they love so they can develop a strong foundation for a lifetime of health and wellness.
Chenowith Elementary School, North Wasco County School District
Creating a culture of wellness starts young at Chenowith Elementary, a K-5 school located in The Dalles. The schools youngsters learn about self-management and goal setting, stress reduction, anxiety management, and overall mental and physical well-being. They are exposed to nutritious foods and nutrition education throughout the school day, starting with breakfast that is provided at no charge to all students in the classroom. Fruit or vegetable snacks are provided through the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Students learn about local produce and where their food comes from through working with the school garden. Produce from the garden is also incorporated into school meals and snacks.
Students stay active with a wide range of physical activity options including in-class energizer breaks, jog-a-thons, Jump Rope 4 Heart, Shape Up Across Oregon, Walk and Bike to School activities, and, of course, recess. The school has participated in the Healthy Kids Learn Better grant and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Families are engaged through after-school cooking classes, and a monthly nutrition newsletter. Staff is actively engaged in promoting wellness and participates in after-school fitness classes that include Zumba and an “Insanity” stations workout. The goal is to make health, physical activity, and good nutrition a fun part of daily life.
Meriwether Lewis Elementary, Portland Public Schools
The teachers at Portland’s Lewis Elementary are well aware of the connection between health, movement, and student learning – it’s something they discuss and study during staff meetings. Teachers incorporate daily Brain and Body breaks into their classes to boost focus and learning. The school provides before and after-school programs to support student health and wellness including Kung Fu club, Ping Pong club, yoga, Walk and Bike celebrations, and community dinners hosted by the Chefs Move to School program.
Families participate in the school’s wellness culture through working in the school garden, joining Family Walk events, and participating in school wellness challenges. The school Wellness Coordinator/Garden Educator leads many of the school’s efforts around health and wellness. Every student has garden education classes and exposure to the Harvest of the Month program which promotes local, seasonal produce. The school also participates in the Farm to School Program and conducts student taste tests to try new nutritious foods. The third grade classrooms work daily to compost food waste in the school’s 3-bin compost system in the garden and the fourth grade classrooms take turns helping to serve food in the cafeteria.
2012 Oregon School Wellness Award Recipients
James John Elementary (Portland, OR) K-5
James John Elementary in Portland is involved in many activities to promote school wellness, including a weekly recess running club called the Pride Striders. The club allows students to set goals for laps run and earn tokens. In addition, participation in the school lunch program is at 86 percent and the participation in breakfast rose from 68.8 percent last year, to 72.3 percent this year. James John also provides a daily afternoon snack program that promotes fresh fruits and vegetables. To continue fostering school wellness, James John plans to invest in nutrition education curriculum, giving teachers the opportunity to bring nutrition education into their classrooms. Other plans include installing a school garden and a bark chip running path, as well as a rock climbing frame.
John Muir School (Ashland, OR) K-8
John Muir Elementary School, an outdoor and arts magnet school, in Ashland integrates health and wellness into many aspects of the school day. As result of wellness efforts, John Muir saw an increase of 10 percent in meal participation in one year. The school is involved in the Oregon Harvest for School, Farm to School program, and also has their own school garden. Vegetables grown in the garden are used in the cafeteria as snacks for students and to share with families. To promote physical activity, teachers at John Muir join students in weekly outdoor activities like walking, hiking, backpacking and skiing through their Outdoor Education program. Nutrition education is integrated with these and other activities with units such as: Seeds, Trees, Milk, the Human Body and Sustainability. To continue fostering school wellness, John Muir plans to purchase a play structure, additional P.E. and school garden equipment, as well as invest in nutrition education materials.
Bonanza Schools (Bonanza, OR) K-12
Housed in one building, Bonanza Schools in the Klamath County School District promotes wellness with students, staff and the community. The school is involved in the Alliance for a Healthier Generation wellness initiative and earned a “Bronze Award” from the Alliance last year. Bonanza teaches nutrition education at all grade levels, and encourages healthy eating, with a variety of choices at lunch, including fruits, vegetables, whole-grain and low and fat-free milk, and by teachers going through the lunch line with students. Students attend the annual Farm Expo in Klamath Falls and work with FFA to learn more about farming and food. School-wide staff wellness activities help make wellness a deeper part of the culture at Bonanza. To promote physical activity, there are in-class energizer breaks, a Jog-a-Thon, Jump-Rope-4-P.E. event and other activities. Future plans include purchasing a jump rope for everyone at the school, putting on cooking classes for the community, staff and students, as well as implementing afterschool programs that promote physical activity.
2011 Oregon School Wellness Award Recipients
Sabin Elementary (Portland Public School District) K-8
Sabin Elementary from Portland Public School District has done an amazing job improving National School Lunch participation from 64% to 100%! For a healthier message, the school has family dinner nights combined with adult and family classes to replace ‘Muffins with Moms’ and ‘Donuts for Dad’. The school participates in many Bike/Walk activities including, twice weekly Bike Trains for everyone. Future plans include holding a Wellness Conference with child nutrition experts to educate parents and community on health and wellness. Every Wednesday, food bags are given to families containing whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables with help from SUN and Whole Foods. Sabin Elementary is doing amazing things to promote wellness for everyone!
Willamina Elementary (Willamina School District) K-5
Willamina Elementary from the Willamina School District was the winner of the Healthier US School’s Challenge Silver Award and the School Nutrition Association District of Excellence Award. Participation in the National School Lunch Program has improved from 57% to 77% and breakfast jumped a remarkable 55%! Last spring, they held a successful Kid’s Iron Chef Competition. For physical activity they have daily fitness walks before school for 30 minutes around the track with students, staff and community members. For future development of the school’s overall wellness, Willamina Elementary plans to purchase bicycles and nutrition education materials. Exciting new activities for wellness are happening at Willamina Elementary!
Garfield Elementary (Corvallis School District) K-5
Garfield Elementary from the Corvallis School District is involved in many innovative activities for wellness including Safe Routes to School, Girls on the Run, and Mileage Club. The Mileage Club allows students to use high-tech tags with barcodes to track how much they walk or run in the two weekly running events. For the National School Lunch Program, they have increased participation from 73% to 80%! To continue promoting wellness for the school and community, Garfield plans to build bike racks and buy seeds for the Garfield Garden. Garfield has creative and impressive ideas to improve their school wellness!
2010 Oregon School Wellness Award Recipients
Fairview Elementary (Klamath Falls City Schools)
Fairview Elementary has been a leader is promoting student wellness through active participation in a variety of Federal, State and local community initiatives to increase health and fitness of students and staff including: Safe Routes to School, Breakfast in the Classroom, and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. In summer 2009 and planned again in 2010, Fairview Elementary partnered with the Klamath Falls Friends Church and OSU Extension Service Klamath County in implementing a summer nutrition and garden camp. Each year since 2003, Fairview has partnered with the Oregon
4 of 4 Family Nutrition Program/OSU Extension for K-6 nutrition education in the classroom. Evening programs for families promote physical activity and healthy eating. District Wellness Policy is embedded part of Fairview’s curriculum and has become a vital part of the school culture.
Hoover Elementary (Corvallis School District)
The Hoover Wellness Team leads staff and students to improve nutrition and physical activity by providing monthly Farm to School tasting tables and nutrition education at lunch time; a monthly walk and bike to school day, challenge month, and active transportation fest; Great Start campaign aligning monthly free breakfast with the monthly walk and bike to school day; providing health-related rewards (i.e. pedometers, bike helmets, water bottles, team time with OSU student athletes, athletic club family pass); Family Science, Safety, and Health Night, which provided families with a night of interactive exhibits and challenges (solar cell car races, bike checkups, food pyramid fun, multi-cultural cooking, glo-germ); creating student-produced e-breaks (energizers) DVD; and creating and publishing a Hoover Healthy Foods – Healthy Activities book.
Sacramento Elementary (Parkrose School District)
Sacramento Elementary became a Bronze award winning school with the Healthier Generation Schools program in 2009, which introduced new activities and partnerships that opened the door to education and communication among faculty and the wellness committee. Classroom teachers use Jammin Minutes to provide one minute exercise moments in the classroom, an effective tool to keep students alert and active. Teachers use the Great Body Shop for health and nutrition education while faculty compete in healthy eating and physical activity challenges to improve their personal health. Participation in school meals has increased due to new vegetarian choices each day and improvements to the appearance in the cafeteria. New tile and paint present both a clean, fresh look, and a statement that the time students spend eating a meal should be spent in pleasant surroundings. Sacramento participates in the Breakfast in the Classroom, Lunch and Supper programs to provide nutritious choices that students need and education to support health.
2009 Oregon School Wellness Award Recipients
Blossom Gulch Elementary, K-4
This year, Blossom Gulch received and implemented ODE’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program – a grant that provides funding for daily fresh and healthy snacks for their students. In addition to the extra servings of fresh fruits and veggies, students at Blossom Gulch benefit from swim classes at all grades, a renewed focus on physical education, and a lunch program that eliminated soda, chips, and fries in favor of more nutritious options. The school holds true to the vision and action plan it developed in 2004 as part of their Healthy Kids Learn Better grant.
Centennial Learning Center, 7-12
Centennial Learning Center is on a mission to change how students think about food. Not only have they initiated healthier food options at the cafeteria and throughout the school (courtesy of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program), they are getting students involved in hands-on nutrition education. The goal is to create a “from scratch” meal program which not only benefits the school but can serve as a model for others. Students will gain their food handlers cards and will learn how to plan menus and cook low cost, nutritional meals utilizing fresh, local ingredients whenever possible. The school raised over $12,000 from their community for their kitchen project.
Mosier Community School, K-6
Mosier works directly with a local food distributor that provides the school with high quality items and fresh, local produce. Homemade meals featuring local ingredients are offered whenever possible. Compost from school meals and snacks help enrich the school’s garden and curriculum through their composting program. And each morning at Mosier starts with the entire school gathering together to do stretches and exercise as part of the “Move-it” program. This program gives staff and students alike the opportunity to exercise first thing in the morning putting their days, and hopefully their lives, off to a healthy start.
2008 Oregon School Wellness Award Recipients
Abernethy Elementary, K-5
Abernethy has a school kitchen where all the food is made from scratch by a trained chef. In the Garden of Wonders, students participate in food and garden-based activities that are interwoven with academic curriculum. A full-time
AmeriCorps volunteer teaches students about food; how it grows, its cultural significance, its nutritional value, and how to prepare it in healthy meals.
Franklin School, K-8
Franklin is a Healthy Kids Learn Better school that uses Start Smart Eating & Reading Nutrition curriculum. MIX IT UP is a school-wide nutrition program during lunch with a focus on MyPyramid specifically fruits and vegetables. A monthly school menu featuring fruits and vegetables of the month, recipes, and health information is shared with student and parents. Primary teachers are adding more energizers to their curriculum, increasing the physical activity in the classroom.
Joseph School District
Joseph has implemented a school-wide fitness program that rewards students with charms for their exercise. They have monthly events that unite the student with the community to teach them lifelong wellness tips. One such event is the “Turkey Trot” walk that followed the Thanksgiving school meal. The Joseph School District encourages all families to participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs. Participation in their child nutrition programs has increased by 30% this past year.
