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5210 Goes to School
April 2010 Featured School
Woodstock Elementary School, Bryant Pond, Maine
Woodstock Elementary creates a healthy and balanced school family that learns and grows together.
Nordic Skiing
Corn-on-the-cob snack Fruit & Veggie Kick-Off
Woodstock Elementary has worked hard and made local partnerships to ensure students get daily physical activity. In addition to traditional after school sports programs, and Physical Education, the district and Woodstock have developed a partnership with Sunday River offering students the chance to ski free and receive alpine ski lessons. The school also offers affordable nordic skiing equipment and lessons through work with the Mahoosuc Kids After School Program, Maine Winter Sports Center, Winter Kids, and the Wilderness House at Sunday River. Students stay active by being involved yearly in a Walk to School Day, all classrooms doing Take Time physical activity breaks, and offering a new morning recess before the school day begins. Teachers have also ceased offering food as rewards for students, and replaced it with activity time.
Woodstock continually encourages students to avoid too much screen time to prevent inactivity. Before vacations, ways to get out and get moving are modeled for students at all-school assemblies, and students record their activities in order to receive classroom activity rewards. This year Woodstock Elementary held an afternoon of winter fun the day before February break to kick off this initiative.
Students are also encouraged to make solid nutrition choices at Woodstock School. Low-fat milk is served every day to students who choose it at snack time, and students are able to use water bottles to have access to drinking water all day. Healthy snacks are encouraged for snack time. To model this, the teachers removed the soda machine from the staff room permanently. At lunch, students must choose two items from the cafeteria salad bar where only water and low-fat milk are offered. For school celebrations, the school uses money from an activity account raised by the students to purchase fresh fruits and veggies.
In addition to all of these student programs, Woodstock Elementary also runs a healthy weight management program for staff, which offers incentives for meeting weight goals, whether it is to lose weight, or simply maintain. Teachers are also excellent role models by participating with students in all activities around 5-2-1-0, and being physically active by biking to school, running after school, walking after school, or competing in charity athletic events such as triathlons and road races.