LIMA —The Activated School Challenge awards were given to eleven local area school districts on Friday.
Each winner completed self assessments over their environment, completed improvement plans and then were approved for funds.
Josh Unterbrink at Activate Allen County said, “We made sure that the funds that are being awarded are going to good use. They’re going to meaningful, sustainable programs in your school district.”
The award of up to $2,500 is to help make the school environments healthier by adopting guidelines that promote health, nutrition, and mental health. The funding will improve programs, curricula, and equipment to permanently improve the health of their students during the 2021-2022 school year and beyond.
Activated School Challenge winners are Cridersville Elementary, Delphos Jefferson High School, ECCO program at North Middle School, Holy Rosary, Jennings Local Schools, Kalida Elementary School, Leipsic Local Schools, Lima West Middle School, Ottawa Elementary, St. Rose Catholic School, and Sts. Peter & Paul School.
When asked why he was present Noah Reichelderfer from Cridersville Elementary replied, “We’re trying to get more equipment.”
Cridersville Elementary is a fairly new building. “We have phenomenal playgrounds, but we don’t have any of the excess equipment. So we’re going to use the money to get some really good basketballs, soccer balls, jump ropes and hula hoops,” said Jill Stubbs, counselor and physical education teacher.
Another winner was Jennings local schools for a rather unique idea. They were able to purchase an additional cooler for the cafeteria to promote the high school kids to eat healthy snacks. In the small Jennings school, many students are actively involved in a number of activities after school. Some students would not eat in the time between lunch and dinner at home. This could be from 11:00 am to almost 8:00 pm. The students are encouraged to bring in healthy snacks and keep them in the cooler so that have access to a snack after school in between school and extracurricular activities. Jerry Siefker was in charge of buying a cooler that fit the students’ needs. Cheryl Schnipke was the impetus behind the healthy snack initiative.
Nick Langhals, Jennings superintendent and high school principal said, “Now we can give these guys and girls a chance to grab a snack after school. A lot of our students go from basketball practice to drama practice. They are at school sometimes three, four, or five hours.”
Tyler Smith, Mercy Health’s Director of Community Health – Lima, said, “Research tells us that if we can instill healthy lifestyle habits in our school-age children, we can set them up for a lifetime of healthy living.”
Noah Reichelderfer and Jill Stubbs accept the award on behalf of Cridersville Elementary.
Activated School Challenge award winners
Josh Unterbrich, Jennifer Horstman, Cheryl Schnipke, Jerry Sieger, Nick Langhals, and Tyler Smith at the Activated School Challenge awards
Reach Dean Brown ay 567-242-0409