The Kirtland Local Schools have a strong commitment to the overall wellness of its school community. Staff, students, and families are coming together, now more than ever, to not only take care of others but themselves as well. In a partnership with the district’s Wellness Committee, numerous initiatives are being planned that will take place in classrooms as well as in homes.
The Wellness Committee, which consists of members of the administration, staff, students, and parents, has met quarterly over the past few years. The committee looks for ways to promote wellness for all stakeholders, which aligns with the district’s strategic plan of “promoting healthy choices for students.”
Families are enjoying the wellness calendar, published each month by the food services department, which consists of a wide variety of daily prompts for people to complete. The guidance counselors at Kirtland Elementary School also publish a monthly newsletter that is shared with staff and families. It focuses on topics such as connecting with nature and even a recipe of the month.
Kirtland Elementary School
Kirtland Elementary School (KES) has increased its wellness efforts over the past few years, especially to help staff and school families throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. With the help of the guidance counselors, Principal Katy Nagaj has created a wellness challenge for their elementary school staff that includes a team step challenge, completing a ‘wellness wheel’ for self-reflection, and offering writing prompts to complete in their own gratitude journals.
The guidance department also writes a monthly wellness newsletter with the main goal being to provide staff members with information on a variety of topics such as mental health, connecting with nature, and strengthening one’s mindset. Each issue includes the main focus, guidance updates from within the building, and a healthy recipe.
During a recent professional development day, the staff had options of participating in activities such as yoga, walking, guided meditation or an exercise boot camp class led by two of their own teachers. The boot camp, started last year, has had high levels of participation, so the school is hoping to bring it back as a weekly program teachers can take before or after school.
In partnership with the PTA, students and staff participated in a walk-a-thon on October 15. Through the use of a special website created for the event, families were able to sponsor participating students. During the week leading up to the walkathon, Mrs. Grdadolnik had each class walk laps around the track, and during the event, the students kept track of their laps on cards worn around their necks.
Other wellness activities for students include “Walking Wednesdays,” where all kindergarten through fifth-grade teachers are encouraged to take their students out of their classrooms for a brain break. They continue to track their steps and some even keep track as a class. They walk on the track, around the campus and playground. The playground features activity zones with prompts like pushups, Hornet Jacks, or obstacle courses.
In addition, there is a 30-minute block of “No New Instruction Time” built into the daily master schedule where a wide variety of activities take place throughout the building. “Some of these activities center around wellness,” said Nagaj. ”For example, some students play kickball in the gym while others take part in STEM-related activities to actively engage in hands-on problem-solving challenges to stretch their brain and mind.”
“I value wellness and I know that considering what our staff and students have been through during the past year and a half, I am committed to providing opportunities for our KES family to take care of themselves so that they can take care of others,” said Nagaj.
Kirtland Middle and High School
Students are focusing on social-emotional learning and well-being during their home base time at the middle school. A new Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) initiative at both schools is “improving yourself, empowering others, and impacting the world” featuring positive competencies and skills that revolve around those three pillars.
KMS celebrated Bullying Awareness Month in October with lessons that focused on creating an anti-bullying school where students stand up for and advocate for each other (in-person and online). Kindness Week and World Kindness Day celebrations focused on teaching students about the impact that one positive deed can have on others as it creates a chain reaction of kind acts. Students also were encouraged to develop an “attitude of gratitude” where students reflect on what they are thankful for and take time to acknowledge it. Two other awareness campaigns that students will be involved in include vaping awareness and suicide prevention and awareness.
For physical wellness at the middle school, all students receive 20 minutes of REC every day to encourage them to get up and move. If the weather is good and the field is dry, then REC happens outside. KMS also focuses on mental health by asking students to complete a survey identifying their stressors. School Counselor, Mr. Greg Bell, meets with those students who are flagged for follow-up, and a check-up meeting occurs to assist in lowering their stress and anxiety. Results from the survey are also used to find ways to make improvements within the school.
At the high school, there is a high percentage of students who participate in athletics, marching band, and other extracurricular activities that allow them to get moving during the day. Teachers also consistently provide movement breaks during their classes to help students reset and get some steps around the building. Students are involved with Project Love and Unity Day, and they serve as peer leaders to the elementary and middle school students, focusing on making healthy connections with other students. Mental health initiatives include Life Act presentations for suicide prevention and awareness and Peer Leaders working with ninth-graders on stress management.
“The need for the wellness committee has been as important as ever as so many people battled isolation, anxiety, and inactivity from the pandemic,” said Superintendent Chad VanArnhem. “Feedback from the students has been extremely valuable as we look to always improve what we are doing for the children. We will continue striving to meet the physical and social-emotional needs of our students and staff to provide the best possible learning environment for them.”