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Delburne students get creative to stay healthy

Kids come up with novel ways to be active, eat healthy
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Delburne school students with their healthy snack cart.

Delburne students don’t run in the halls — they touch their toes and dance in the hallways.

Students at the K-12 Delburne Centralized School are taking the lead in bringing wellness programs to their school. One of their first initiatives was the popular Don’t Walk in the Hallway program.

Students and staff are staying active by following the prompts painted on the floor in the corridors between classrooms. For elementary students this might mean everyone stops to touch their toes when they walk on a triangle. In middle school, students might pull some dance moves.

High school students can use the prompt as a reminder to make a kind gesture to a peer, to improve the overall mental health vibe at the school, states a release from the Chinook’s Edge School Division.

Delburne students like that the activities change every month and that various grades make them up as they go along. “It’s really fun,” said Grade 3 student Finn Weddell, who thinks blowing off steam between classes makes it easier for him to pay attention in the classroom.

Another student initiative involves a snack cart of vegetables, fruit and popcorn that’s taken around school halls. Besides ensuring access to healthy snacks, the $1 sale of each item goes towards the cost of year-end school trips. The Snack Shack cart is part of the school’s career and entrepreneurship programs, teaching pricing, food handling and kitchen skills.

Delburne students came up with these and other ideas after attending a Healthy Active Schools Symposium last fall. Schools throughout the Chinook’s Edge district are encouraged to apply these kinds of Healthy Active Schools philosophies.