The Healthy Schools Summit is the premier event in Washington State that brings together over 400 professionals from the education and health community to prepare current and future school health champions to lead the healthy school movement in their local and regional communities. Over a dozen local and state organizations, under the leadership of the non-profit Treeswing, partner to plan this spring event.

Our 2011 theme is: "Working with the community to support healthy schools". In order for all students to be successful, all their needs - academic, social, emotional and health - need to be addressed. Schools cannot not do this alone. Community partners, such as public health, mental health and social service agencies, and local businesses, non-profits, universities and others, can partner with schools to serve youth. This year's Summit will explore how schools can most effectively partner with the community to create healthy schools and how community partners can most effectively reach and support schools.

Thursday, 07 Apr 2011

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Sodas and other sugar-sweetened drinks may no longer be sold in city buildings. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has issued an Executive Order to put an end to the sale of sugary drinks on city property.

Citing a link between the consumption of sugary beverages and rising obesity rates and healthcare costs, Mayor Menino today issued an executive order requiring City departments to take steps in the next six months to phase out the sale, advertising, and promotion of sugary beverages on City-owned property. Click here to read more.

Parents who fear that video games are turning their children into tubs of lard can now say with confidence that playing Dance Dance Revolution burns more calories than sitting on the couch.

In fact, active video games like Dance Dance Revolution give kids a better workout than walking on a treadmill at 3 mph, according to new study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. And even the overweight kids say they liked playing the games.

However, a 3 mph walk is pretty darned leisurely, and the children who played Wii Boxing didn't manage to get their metabolic rate above their walking rate. Dance Dance Revolution bested Nintendo Wii Boxing when 39 children ages 9 to 13 were dancing to the rock chestnut "Thirteen."

Earlier studies have evaluated home video games as exercise options, but this study also looked at commercial video games like Sportwall, in which students interact with wall panels equipped with motion senors, that are becoming increasingly popular for school phys ed classes. Click here to read more.

This toolkit is designed to provide farms, schools, families, and communities with resources to help them meet their farm-to-school goals through stories, photos, templates, documents and more. 

A main feature of the toolkit is a WA Grown Food Kit for school food service, which features crops available from Washington growers, along with supporting recipes, menu plans and nutrition facts. This Food Kit will expand over time, with more food items, menus and recipes.  Over time we will add recipes for child care and senior meal programs, with their nutrition needs and serving sizes in mind, as well as more educational and promotional materials for the different foods.    The WSDA Farm-to-School Toolkit also gathers information from great sources in Washington and around the country. Click here to get this toolkit.

President Obama launched the America's Great Outdoors (AGO) Initiative to develop a 21st Century conservation and recreation agenda. AGO takes as its premise that lasting conservation solutions should rise from the American people - that the protection of our natural heritage is a non-partisan objective shared by all Americans.

AGO recognizes that many of the best ideas come from outside of Washington. Instead of dictating policies, this initiative turns to communities for local, grassroots conservation initiatives. Instead of growing bureaucracy, it calls for reworking inefficient policies and making the Federal Government a better partner with states, tribes, and local communities. http://americasgreatoutdoors.gov/

CPPW Schools Workshops:

Did you miss the any of the CPPW Schools Workshops? 
Click here to download all the course materials.

The U.S. Department of Education Office Safe and Drug-Free Schools announced that the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP) is now accepting 2011 grant applications! The PEP program provides grants to local educational agencies and community-based organizations to initiate, expand, and improve physical education for students from grades K through 12. The deadline to apply is May 13, 2011 and the estimated range of awards is $100,000 to $750,000.

Community Impact Grants from Home Depot

Grants, up to $5,000, are available to registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, public schools or tax-exempt public service agencies in the U.S. that are using the power of volunteers to improve the physical health of their community.  Grants are given in the form of The Home Depot gift cards for the purchase of tools, materials, or services. Community Impact Grants Program. Amount: $5,000. Deadline: October 31, 2011

Nominate middle school programs for a chance to win $10,000

The Afterschool Alliance and MetLife Foundation need your help identifying exemplary afterschool programs serving middle school youth to win a $10,000 MetLife Foundation Afterschool Innovator Award and be featured in our series of Issue Briefs. The awards program aims to identify potentially lesser-known (no comma) yet highly-effective (no comma) programs and the individuals running them. Additional details as well as the online nomination form are available online.

$2.1 Million Dollars in Let's Play Grants. 

KaBOOM! is proud to offer $2.1 million dollars over three years in Let's Play grants exclusively to Playful City USA communities. This is the year for your city to become a Playful City USA. Make play a priority and request the application today.

The Office Depot Foundation

The Office Depot Foundation focuses on making a difference in children's lives by supporting activities that serve, teach and inspire children, youth and families. The Foundation strives to enhance communities by supporting civic organizations and activities that address community needs. Applications are retrieved on a monthly basis and are reviewed by a committee. Allow at least 12 weeks after you submit your completed application before you receive a response. Grant amounts will be a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $3,000.   

Saucony Run for Good Program  

The Saucony Run for Good Program encourages active and healthy lifestyles in children. The Foundation is seeking to fund applicants that initiate and support running and fitness programs for kids

Multiple awards of up to $10,000 will be granted to selected applicants. Eligible applicants must have tax-exempt status, a target population of youth 18 years or younger, and demonstrate that programmatic activities will increase youth running.

Deadline: June 13, 2011.

The SPARK Grant-Finder Tool is your best resource for locating national and state-specific grants for your Physical Education, After school, Early childhood or Coordinated School Health program. Grants can be used for curriculum, teacher training, or equipment.

The Chefs Move to Schools program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will help chefs partner with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools' dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.

Model State Parent-Teacher Association Childhood Obesity Prevention Resolution NPLAN's Model State PTA Resolution provides a model framework for state (and local) PTAs that want to take a stance for student health by supporting school polices aimed at preventing childhood obesity.

Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools is a comprehensive grassroots public health effort to mobilize and engage stakeholders at the local, state and national level to support salad bars in schools. Our vision is to significantly increase salad bars in schools across the country until every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school.

Cultural and Ethnic Food and Nutrition Education Materials: A Resource List for Educators 2011 This publication is a collection of resources on the topic of cultural and ethnic food and nutrition education materials. Resources include books, pamphlets and audiovisuals. The books and audiovisuals can be either borrowed from your local library or purchased from your local book store.

Resource List for School Food Service Professionals 2011

This publication is a compilation of resources for professionals involved in school food service. The resources are in a variety of information formats: articles, books and full-text materials on the World Wide Web. Resources chosen provide information on many aspects of school food service.

A GUIDE TO TASTE TESTING LOCAL FOODS IN SCHOOLS

Most school food service personnel know that if they introduce a radically new dish or food item, it will end up in the compost or trash. So how do schools encourage students to try new foods on the menu? That's where taste testing comes in. This guide will give you the tools and resources to help implement a taste testing program in your school.

Yes You Can

This all inclusive guide provides a fresh look at healthy school fundraisers.

New Bicycle and Pedestrian Curricula Guide: Bicycle and Pedestrian Curricula Guide: Making the Case for Bicycle and Pedestrian Youth Education.  Published by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.

Making the Connection:  Linking Academic Achievement to Policies to Promote Physical Activity

CS Mott Children's National Poll on Children's Health- Parents want more physical activity for kids at school