Mission: Healthy Kids, a partnership of Kohl’s Cares® and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, offered a free Healthy Schools Challenge program to Wisconsin schools that focused on nutrition. The purpose of the Challenge was to provide an engaging way for educators to introduce or continue to implement nutrition education in their classrooms. More than 14,000 students at 150 schools in 44 counties signed up to participate in the Challenge that ran from February 4 through April 1.
Educators chose from three outlined challenges – Just TRY IT! Fruit and Vegetable Challenge, MyPlate Challenge and Healthy Food Pantry Challenge – or created their own. Guidelines included a rubric to help educators implement the Challenge. After the challenge, educators completed and submitted a Challenge Summary to qualify for classroom awards.
School Award Winners:
The following 10 schools, which completed the Challenge, were randomly selected to receive $500 Challenge Grants to continue their nutrition education work in the classroom:
- Kennedy Middle School – Germantown
- St. James School – Madison
- Clarke Street School – Milwaukee
- Emerson School – Milwaukee
- Honey Creek School – Milwaukee
- St. Joseph Academy – Milwaukee
- Clement Avenue School – Milwaukee
- H.W. Longfellow School – Milwaukee
- Manitoba School – Milwaukee
- Watertown Catholic School, St. Bernard Campus – Watertown
The following 25 schools were recognized for their outstanding work in completing the Healthy Schools Challenge:
- Algoma Elementary School – Algoma
- Athens Elementary School – Athens
- Robinson School – Beloit
- Campbellsport Elementary School – Campbellsport
- Our Redeemer Lutheran – Delavan
- Denmark Early Childhood Center – Denmark
- Rosenow Elementary – Fond du Lac
- Evergreen Elementary School – Holmen
- North Woods International – LaCrosse
- St. Mary’s School – Marathon
- Engleburg School – Milwaukee
- Milwaukee Sign Language School – Milwaukee
- Riverwest Elementary School – Milwaukee
- Sherman Elementary School – Milwaukee
- St. Gregory the Great Parish – Milwaukee
- Story Elementary School – Milwaukee
- Trowbridge Elementary School – Milwaukee
- Victory & Italian Immersion School – Milwaukee
- Vieau Elementary School – Milwaukee
- Woodlands School State Street – Milwaukee
- Lakeland Star School Academy – Minocqua
- St. Paul’s School – Muskego
- Shattuck Middle School – Neenah
- Rosholt Elementary – Rosholt
- Weston Elementary – Schofield
The schools received classroom kits with educational materials to continue their nutrition awareness work in the classroom.
One in five kids between the ages of 6-19 are obese. Children with obesity are at a higher risk for other chronic health conditions and diseases, are more often bullied and teased, and are more likely to suffer from social isolation, depression and lower self-esteem. Research shows that a proper diet can help kids pay attention and improve their academic success.
In partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin School Health Wellness Awards, Mission: Healthy Kids promotes policy, systems and environmental changes in schools. The program connects schools and families to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s e-learning health education programming and provides free resources on nutrition, physical activity and healthy minds. More information, including resources for parents and educators, is available at missionhealthykids.org. Mission: Healthy Kids is made possible through a grant from Kohl’s philanthropic program, Kohl’s Cares®, which sells children’s books and toys and donates 100 percent of the net profit to charitable initiatives nationwide.
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