Health is more than a special subject at Heritage Elementary School.
That was especially true for some fifth-graders last week who put what they were learning into practice by creating some healthy snacks for the runners at last weekend’s Fittin’ It In 5K in Highlands Ranch.
The kids made peach lemonade and strawberry lemonade popsicles to go with their country health theme for the year. Nutrition services let the runners and attendees at the race decide their favorite, and the Heritage team’s snack was selected as the people’s choice.
“That real life experience, customer service thinking through what they need to tell the racers as they come through is so much fun for the kids,” saidSue Antonsen, health teacher and wellness coordinator at Heritage.
Because their snack was the people’s choice, they will get a smoothie party hosted by district executive chef Jason Morse. This was the school’s third year competing in the race and its first win.
The kids had working groups to determine the best and most healthy snack for the more than 200 runners who showed up last weekend. They worked with a chef to come up with the best recipe. About five of the 12 kids working on the project spent time handing out the snacks at the race.
The activity is part of a broader curriculum on health at the school, which has kids thinking about making healthy choices. The school also has a garden with 10-by-20-foot plots for each grade. And as part of the school’s country theme, this year they have 12 chickens.
“To see that full cycle of planting the seeds, growing it and eating it and taking the scraps to the chickens is such a huge benefit, that they can sustain themselves by simply planting a garden,” Antonsen said.
The third annual 5K also highlighted staff wellness and raised money for the schools — about $4,200. District staff can win points for health and wellness and the 5K was one avenue for them to do that, said Michelle Carter, staff wellness coordinator for the district.
New this year, staff can win gift cards for earning more than 250 points and enter to win a $1,000 gift card for getting 500 points or more.
“Overall, we look at the workplaces, whether the district or city governments, and all have different wellness programs going on and we wanted to showcase we have wellness programs going on and we want to showcase we can be a top leader when it comes to staff wellness compared to other government entities and businesses,” Carter said.
But she said staff wellness isn’t just about the staff.
“When the teachers are healthy and have a good wellness program, that can trickle down to the students to showcase how important wellness is,” Carter said.
That’s why she said it was so important to get kids involved with the 5K, partly so that it can in turn inspire the parents and lead to healthier communities overall.
Antonsen said the garden also helps the kids think about where their food comes from, which is something most suburban kids probably don’t grasp when they get food from the grocery store. She said it will help them become more conscientious eaters.
Heritage also encourages breakfast and healthy eating because students’ academic performance, in part, depends on it. Classes sometimes take brain breaks.
“If you’re not eating breakfast in the morning everything just goes downhill for what you’re remembering, how you’re feeling, and it’s important as a kid because that’s their job now,” Antonsen said.
Clayton Woullard: 303-954-2671 or cwoullard@denverpost.com
