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Healthy Huskies:

Changing Lifestyles at Richard E. Haynes Elementary School

Liliana Celio
April 11, 2017
Pacific Oaks College
HD 412
Instructor: Chiquita Waters
Introduction

After years of working in the education field, I have observed that many of the families

within our communities do not follow a healthy lifestyle. For many parents, a day filled with

numerous activities may lead them to choose the convenience of a fast-food restaurant over a

home cooked meal. Long work days and homework-filled nights may often cause families to feel

that they have less time or desire for exercise. As a result, many families tend to follow a

sedentary lifestyle. While the daily bombardment of unhealthy food choices may result as a

major factor, this problem especially exists amongst families who struggle financially. For this

reason, I plan to implement a health and wellness workshop at Richard E. Haynes Elementary

School called, Healthy Huskies. The workshop will encourage families to adopt a healthy

lifestyle by showing them that clean eating and exercise is attainable through nutrition education

and enjoyable active options.

Who may benefit?

For my final project, I chose to focus on the community at the school for which I work,

Richard E. Haynes Elementary School. I chose this community because although the school

district has attempted to implement a health and wellness policy, several families continue to

disregard the importance of leading healthy lives. I believe that one contributing factor is that

most families have an abundance of fast food restaurants easily accessible to them at almost

every corner of their neighborhood. Sadly, this convenience opens the door for temptation. In

other cases, some families find that convenience foods such as frozen dinners and canned meals

offer quick, yet simple alternatives. Other families simply do not know how to prepare meals that

include fresh fruits and vegetables. More specifically, many families may lack knowledge
regarding calories, carbohydrates, sodium intake, and portion control. By providing families with

the proper tools, families may recognize that making their health a priority can be more than

manageable.

Financial struggles affect several families within the community at Richard E. Haynes

Elementary. According to the California Department of Education, about 85.9% of the student

population is socioeconomically disadvantaged. (Richard E. Haynes Elementary, n.d.). This

means that several families may not only need financial assistance, but they may also need to

plan accordingly. For many, managing a family based on a low income may be difficult for

households who have multiple members. As a result, families opt to choose foods that help them

stay within their financial means. Unfortunately, this means that their options limit their food

choices. I say this because most inexpensive food options available in todays grocery stores and

restaurants may hold little to no nutritional value. Consequently, families may feel that their

options are limited to processed foods, over fresh produce. The cycle is almost inevitable.

As time progresses, our communities continue to suffer from a growing health crisis that

needs our support. Based on my observations, young children are malleable. More specifically,

elementary school-aged children are at the age in which they are easily impressionable. They

learn based on the environment and choices to which their family and friends expose them. In

this case, the environment outside of school has gradually taught them about food choices and

portions. Unfortunately, sources such as the media as well as the portions served in restaurants

continuously contribute to their distortion of what a proper meal or snack should entail. This may

include disregarding portion sizes and most importantly, food options that may affect their

growing bodies negatively. Oftentimes, this also affects the choices children make during school

meals. Based on my observations, many prefer to avoid consuming the fruits and vegetables that
the school offers them based on the concept provided by MyPlate; a guide that encourages

healthy eating and balance in the United States (MyPlate, 2017). Despite the schools support,

children ask for soda, chips, and candy to supplement their meal. These poor food choices not

only lead to the rising rates of obesity in the United States, but also health issues such as

childhood diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and sleep disorders (Roth, 2016). As

educators, our social responsibility is to provide additional support to this growing epidemic.

What needs to change?

My goal for the Healthy Huskies workshop is to encourage and guide families as they

transition into a healthy lifestyle. I aim to help change their perspectives of healthy living from

unattainable to manageable. I say this because todays fast-paced lifestyles require convenience.

Oftentimes, too many families focus on getting through the day, that they do not make time to

spend quality time together. To remedy this, I aim to show them that eating healthy and

exercising can be simple and enjoyable. As an added benefit, the workshop can provide them

with a haven for which they can learn together about something that can help the entire family.

Ultimately, the quality time spent together is the bonus. In addition, although the students of

Haynes Elementary must participate in physical education twice a week, their bodies require

additional time. This is especially important for the children who do not have the opportunity to

be more active outside of school. I say this because according to the United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA), experts recommend that children and adolescents aged six-seventeen,

engage in a minimum of sixty minutes of physical activity daily (MyPlate, 2017). Furthermore,

when people consume more calories than they use, they tend to gain weight. In fact, if children

are not exposed or encouraged to be active by anyone important to them, the possibility of them
choosing to be active on their own is much less. In this case, the workshop would provide

children with additional exposure and role models that give them a positive example of the

benefits that leading a healthy life entails.

How will children and caregivers benefit?

Now more than ever, adults and children suffer in silence. I say this because many

children prefer to internalize their feelings to prevent bullying at school or at home. Furthermore,

their internal struggles may lead them to battle with health issues such as obesity. Oftentimes, if

children feel bored, anxious, or depressed, they may cope with negative emotions by reaching for

food for comfort; not necessarily because they feel hungry. Based on what I have learned

throughout my time in this course, I have learned that our macrosystem of attitudes and

ideologies may greatly affect our families microsystems and mesosystems (Waters, 2017). This

may happen as external events flow to the core of our individual ecological system. In other

words, the attitudes that todays society have about food have influenced people individually.

Consequently, the relationships we have with others have become affected in the process as we

allow them to influence the way that the families in our communities feel about food and

exercise. This in turn has affected the remaining environmental systems by affecting our

children. Clearly, the cycle needs to stop before children become further affected.

The event

To truly make a positive impact on the community at Haynes Elementary school, I plan to

implement a workshop that benefits the families mind and body. As an educator, I believe that

my social responsibility to the community is to not only care for their children during their time
at school, but I also need to encourage its members to practice self-care. I intend to accomplish

this by providing families and school staff with the Healthy Huskies workshop that will take

place bi-weekly throughout the school year.

The goal of the Healthy Huskies workshop is for families to learn about the benefits of

living an active lifestyle. I plan to achieve this by providing families with an enjoyable

environment in which they can spend quality time together. The event will begin by encouraging

participants to engage in approximately thirty minutes of physical activity followed by nutrition

education. To begin, the active portion will include active games such as obstacle courses or

indoor sports. I would accomplish this by asking the schools physical education staff for

suggestions on group activities that work for them throughout the school year. During the active

portion of the event, student helpers will offer participants fresh fruits and vegetables as snacks.

However, to keep the workshops from becoming redundant, I would like to alternate between

active games and themed dance parties. Both types of activities would include friendly

competition by offering participants with prizes that community businesses may donate. In

addition, as family members dance and socialize they will have the opportunity to enjoy a

refreshing smoothie or juice bar. Furthermore, I also want to include more members of the

community. I intend to do this by asking the students if they personally know of anyone who

would donate their time to DJ each workshop. If this is not an option, I may ask students from

the local high school to help coordinate the entertainment portion of the event. I believe that if a

familiar face plays music that the children enjoy, this will essentially make the event more

gratifying.

Soon after the active portion of the event ends, participants will learn a new simple, yet

healthy recipe that they will make themselves. To supplement this, I would like to ask nutritional
experts to join us as they educate families about meals that they can make outside of school. In

fact, the nutritional experts will show families how to find affordable produce that fits within

their financial means. This may include shopping according to various stores weekly ads or

discovering resources within the community that may help them. In addition, I would like the

children to learn recipes that they can make themselves in case an adult cannot help them or if

they crave something specific. More specifically, I would like the children to learn about snacks

that do not require the use of a stove. If they require a knife, I would suggest that their caregivers

may pre-cut the necessary ingredients. In addition, families may learn to make healthy yet quick

snacks that they can make if they are short for time. Caregivers may also learn how to make

simple meals in which they may include the children. My ultimate goal for the meal portion of

the event is for caregivers and children to learn about the basic building blocks of clean eating

and exercise.

Building a foundation for the Healthy Huskies workshop

To implement this workshop into Haynes Elementary Schools programs of family

benefits, I would need to devise a plan of action. First, I would need to seek the approval of Mr.

Jamemy Barnett, the school principal. By taking this first step, I intend to not only gain his

support but also seek the support of the school staff. I believe that if the school staff becomes

aware of the details of my plan, they may essentially help me encourage students and families to

participate. They may also choose to participate themselves. Next, I would need to ask local

farmers and markets if they would like to donate produce. I would accomplish this by presenting

them with my proposal and inviting them to the event.


I believe that aside from a lack of participation and attendance, this would be the only

limit that I would encounter. Children and families usually have no problem preparing for school

events, as well as participating in cleaning up. However, if I gain the principal and staffs

support, I feel confident that this would not be an issue. Based on my experience with the school

principal, I have learned that he strongly believes in the progress of the community. Therefore, I

feel confident that if I encounter any issues, he would provide me with the necessary resources to

carry out my plan.

For this workshop to succeed, location is key. Considering that I intend to encourage a

minimum of twenty families to participate in my workshop, I plan to ask the principal if I may

use the schools multipurpose room. I say this because the room is large enough to accommodate

approximately three hundred people. The room includes air conditioning and has plenty of space

to allow people to not only make their food but also exercise. In addition, depending on the other

events taking place at the school, I plan to schedule the workshop to take place twice a month on

Tuesdays, after school. Since the event needs much collaboration, I would prefer to start at 3:30

p.m. and end around 4:00 p.m. Preparation would start about two hours before the event begins.

Once the school principal approves my action plan, I intend to research the needs of the

community. To accomplish this, I plan to compose two separate questionnaires. One

questionnaire focuses on exploring the needs of the parents and caregivers of the families. I

would like to ask questions such as, About how much time do you spend cooking every week?

Or, What problems, if any, do you face when purchasing food for your family? The second

questionnaire focuses on the childrens needs. For instance, I would ask questions such as, What

foods do you consider to be healthy? or, What options do you choose when you are hungry? I
believe that if I assess their needs, I may have a better idea of what recipes I would like to

introduce, as well as the type of physical activities.

Marketing

Great events stem from a great team effort. The success of the Healthy Huskies workshop

depends on a strong foundation. To promote the workshop, I plan to take several measures. For

instance, I plan to invite the schools student government to become a part of my monthly

workshop. They will help distribute flyers to every student and make posters that they will place

on various walls around the school. In addition, I would like to ask the principal if he can include

a reminder of our Healthy Huskies workshop in the daily agenda of announcements. This

would include posting on school district social media outlets such as twitter or Facebook.

Furthermore, I would also like the students and families to eventually take ownership of the

event. I say this because although this concept is my own idea, I would prefer for the school

community to feel as if the event belongs to them. I plan to encourage this process by also

inviting students and families to prepare and organize the event while I supervise. By

accomplishing this, I believe that the children in student government will have the opportunity to

learn leadership skills. They may help set up the ingredients for the meals, as well as the stations

to prepare each meal. They may also help organize the stations for the games and dance party.

Risks and limitations

Based on my experience working at Richard E. Haynes Elementary School, I believe that

I will not encounter many limitations. The principal and school staff often welcome any activities

that positively enrich the students lives. The school districts superintendent, Dr. James
Hammond, would also approve of the Healthy Huskies workshop. In fact, I would like to

eventually invite him to participate in the workshop alongside the children. Nonetheless, aside

from a possible lack of family participation, I may also struggle with produce donations. I may

also struggle with the people who would help me Children and families usually have no problem

preparing for school events, as well as participating in cleaning up. However, if I gain the

principal and staffs support, I feel confident that this would not be an issue.

Prizes for the dance party

Conclusion

In conclusion, I believe that the goal of a progressive community should be to always

strive for excellence. This includes teaching children inside the classroom, as well as, outside the

classroom. This is especially important because various negative factors can easily influence

young developing minds. They look to us as they make their choices daily. Therefore, as

educators and caregivers, we have a social responsibility to stop negativity in any way we can.

By offering the community with a positive learning outlet such as the Healthy Huskies

workshop, we can join forces in developing healthy minds and healthy bodies. Indeed, if our

children do not feel physically healthy, they may not feel emotionally healthy. The task is great,

but I believe in the light at the end of the tunnel.


References

MyPlate. (2017, January 25). Retrieved April 11, 2017, from

https://www.choosemyplate.gov/MyPlate

Richard E. Haynes Elementary using the California Department of Education SARC 2016-2017

application. (n.d.). School accountability Report Card. Retrieved April 11, 2017, from

http://www.sarconline.org/Sarc/Order/36678196036198?yearID=8

Roth, E. (2016, January 27). Childhood Obesity. In Gill, K. (Ed.) Healthline. Retrieved April 11,

2017, from http://www.healthlilne.com/health/weight-loss/weight-problems-in-

children#overview1

Waters, C. (2017). Ecological Perspective [Class Lecture]. Retrieved from Pacific Oaks College

HD 412-1P Working with Children and Families in a Diverse World.

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