Upcoming Events & Announcements 

Take precautions to stay well hydrated and cool this summer and don't forget to check on your elderly neighbors. Boston Centers for Youth and Families (BCYF) has various locations throughout the city with air conditioning and pools available to anyone on days when the temperatures reach 90 degrees or higher for 3 or more consecutive days. 

For a list of cooling centers near you, click here>> 

LGBT Summer Camp

Camp Lightbulb, a new, weeklong overnight summer camp for LGBT young people aged 16-18, from August 5-11, 2012 in Provincetown 

Visit the Camp Lightbulb website to learn more>>

Grant Opportunities 

The Rite Aid Foundation is dedicated to helping communities lead happier, healthier lives and seeks to fund programs that focus on health and wellness in areas in which Rite Aid operates.

State Giving Foundation

Through the State Giving Program, the Walmart Foundation supports organizations with programs that align with the foundation's mission to create opportunities for people to live better. The Foundation focuses its support in the areas of education, workforce development/economic opportunity, health and wellness, and environmental stability.

Grants starting at $25,000 are available to select applicants.

Deadline:  August 10, 2012

More information available here>> 

The Kresge Foundation in accepting applications for its Challenge Grants to support projects improving health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services, and community development.

Award amounts are $100,000 - $2.5 million.

Deadline:  Rolling

 More information available here>>

Two of the highlights of the day were keynotes by Counselor at large Ayanna Pressley and Dr. Alexandre who is a BPS School Psychologist as well as a community-based Pastor. Both speakers emphasized the need to connect with parents in the community in order to facilitate the adjustment of our students from other countries.  Nurses were highlighted as liaisons, between the students in their schools and available resources in the community. This was expressed through the presentations on Managing Children with Chronic Illness, Bullying, The Other Obstacle to learning, Health Care Access tips, and Emotional Health.

Read the full article on the Healthy Connections website>> 

More than 11,000 students were welcomed to a variety of Boston Public Schools (BPS) Summer programs this week, a figure that has more than doubled since 2008. BPS is also sponsoring nearly 150 free summer food sites for children under the age of 18 to get a healthy breakfast and lunch during the summer months.

"While our traditional school year ends in June, we are working throughout the summer to give more of our students high-quality educational opportunities in the summer months," said Superintendent Carol R. Johnson. "We are rethinking the traditional notion of summer school. No longer is it just for students who are falling behind. Now we are able to create opportunities for all students to continue to learn and grow in the summer."

Learn more about the Free Summer Foods Kick-off event on the  FNS School Lunch Boston blog>>

1. Tuesday, 8/14/12 1pm: New BPS Health Frameworks & YRBS
2. Wednesday, 8/15/12, 8:30am, Health Policies that Affect the School Environment
3. Wednesday, 8/15/12, 1pm: Strategies in Physical Education
4. Thursday, 8/16/12, 8:30am: PE: Measuring Teacher Effectiveness
5. Thursday, 8/16/12: 1pm: Integrating Physical Activity into Classroom Instruction

 Registration can be found on My Learning Plan for information regarding location and a complete description of each workshop. 

During the second week of July, members of the Health & Wellness Department staff joined BPS teachers and nurses at the Sexuality Education Certificate Series training offered by Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts. Participants developed deeper knowledge and understanding of content, strengthened skills and comfort needed to provide successful sexuality education. Participants who attended this training will be implementing a sexuality education curriculum in BPS middle schools during the 2012-2013 school year. Participants will also be attending a 2-day curriculum training in August.

Summertime in the City provides lots of opportunities for getting active, eating well and having fun. Here are a few resources for youth, families and teachers to use this summer -

Tamir Kalifa for the Boston Globe

• The Healthy Family Fun Summer Guide is a resource provided by Boston Children's Hospital and Kohl's Department Stores as part of the Healthy Family Fun Campaign. The Guide is a one-stop shop for the information your family needs to have fun right in your own backyard while stay healthy.This guide is full of fun summer activity ideas, from day camps to pools to basketball leagues. Get tips about getting enough sleep and using sunscreen when playing outdoors - important pieces of your child's total health and learn about farmers' market locations and recipes ideas using fresh ingredients such as the Fresh Salsa and Guacamole Chicken Wraps.

• The Health and Wellness Department has created a classroom based physical activity toolkit to help incorporate movement within this year's summer programs. Included in the kit are samples of movement breaks, cross-curricular lessons involving movement, as well as promotions. Over 30 teachers have used the kits this summer with a very positive response. The materials have allowed their students to be more physically active during their summer program. If you are interested in the classroom based physical activity toolkit, contact Shannon Wyman. 

 Learn more about the Summer Programs PA toolkit and other PA Promotions on the new BPS Health & Wellness website>> 

• BCYF Summer Guide 2012 - BCYF is the City of Boston's largest youth and human service agency and the lead department for Mayor Thomas M. Menino's Boston R.O.C.K.S!!! summer programming campaign. Included in this brochure are dozens of neighborhood-based summer day camps and programs for Boston's young people. 

Please see the newsletter sidebar for other summertime family resources. 

The BPS Health & Wellness Dept. was recently awarded a $25,000 grant by the American Heart Association to support Let's Move in Boston Public High Schools.

"The Boston Public Schools shares a mutual passion with the American Heart Association in building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and in particular, a dedication to combating childhood obesity," said Health & Wellness Executive Director Jill Carter, "This funding will help provide us with the opportunities to ensure meaningful activities continue and that new, creative projects are developed."

The BPS Health & Wellness Department and Playworks have also been awarded a one-year grant of $50,000 from EdVestors for the 2012-13 school year to support Let's Move in BPS in 4 other schools. The grant will be used to increase the quantity and quality of physical education and provide additional Playworks coaches and Wellness Champions at schools to increase planned physical activity. The grant money will also support FITNESSGRAM assessments, BPS Let's Move Coaches and Wellness Councils, all of which will allow for the effective implementation of Let's Move in BPS and the achievement of its goals.

Students Taking Charge (STC) is a youth-centered program that encourages young people lead change to address the schools wellness environment. The program provides an important avenue for the Boston Public Schools to connect with and promote youth voice.

During the 2011-2012 school year, five Boston Public High Schools participated in the STC program. Each STC group chose a specific project to improve the health and wellness of their school community.

The efforts of these young people and their facilitators, with support from their headmasters and Action for Healthy Kids, enabled incredible changes toward healthier school environments. 

Download the project booklet  to see the progress made by our student leaders>>

The BPS Health & Wellness Department is pleased to announce the release of a new department website - www.bpshealthandwellness.org. The Health and Wellness Department leads the district's efforts to increase the quantity and improve the quality of health education, physical education and physical activity in schools; improve staff wellness; and create a healthier school environment in which the healthy choice is the easy choice. The site was created as a resource and information portal for BPS schools, partners, families and staff.  Explore the site to learn about work being done to advance the Healthy Connections mission by actively promoting the health and wellness of all students to advance both their healthy development and readiness to learn. Check out the various resources that are available such as healthy school environment policies, the Smart Choices tool kit and physical activity promotion ideas for your school. The website will be frequently updated with new information and resources so check back often.

Other BPS Coordinated School Health websites to visit include -

• DELTAS
• Family & Student Engagement
• Food & Nutrition Services
• Health Services

All websites can be accessed through the BPS Healthy Connections site, a website developed to promote and raise awareness of the district's coordinated and comprehensive efforts to improve student health and wellness and, provide updates on the district's progress toward achieving the Healthy Connections overarching goal.