Commit to Be Fit Newsletter
April 18th, 2022
6 October 2023/ Issue No. 258
Photo of the Week
Crossbody windmills are fun! Check out that awesome smile during ABL this week. This multiplanar movement improves coordination and focuses on cross lateralization, or crossing the midline. Activities that increase cross lateralization, which involves the passing of information from one side of the brain to the other, helps students with important concepts like placing words on a page, reading from left to right, and understanding writing pattern sequences.
Karen's Line Dancing
On September 30th, several members of the community came out and danced the night away during the line dancing lessons event. Thank you to Karen for leading two hours of choreographed dance moves to popular country, hip hop, and pop songs. Also, thank you to everyone (those pictured and not pictured) that came out and joined in the fun! Finally, thanks to everyone that brought a canned good to give to the Rappahannock Food Pantry. In total, 16.9 lbs. of food was delivered on Tuesday.
We will be hosting another line dancing event. Stay tuned for more details!
Virginia Farm-to-School Week
Virginia Farm-to-School Week started Monday, October 2nd. RCHS students enjoyed locally grown apples from Thornton River Orchard in Sperryville. Our Harvest of the Month, apples were also served at the elementary school, with the younger students eating yummy baked apples.
Staff Wellness Rooms
Recently, both schools were outfitted with equipment for staff wellness rooms. Over the summer, Ms. Wissinger approached C2BF with a fantastic idea to create an exclusive RCES wellness room for staff. With Mr. Seward's support and the assistance of a staff wellness grant, we were able to outfit a wellness room for RCHS staff as well. Each room is equipped with a treadmill, elliptical, and spin bike as well as an assortment of weight/resistance options.
Shout-Out to the RCES Cafeteria
The recently awarded Healthy Meals Incentives grant supports our cafeterias in improving the nutritional quality of school meals. On Wednesday, RCES students were treated to a delicious new lunch menu item: Chicken Alfredo with roasted red peppers and mushrooms with a side of peas, breadstick, and choice of fruit. Many of the young students gave it a thumbs up and big smiles!
RCHS has been busy creating new menu items too! Stay tuned for an upcoming shout-out featuring our high school cafeteria.
Our popular Hike, Rappahannock community challenge is back! To participate, go on at least one hike during the month of October. Hikes can be done at ANY LOCATION and ANY DISTANCE. Have a favorite trail? Yes, repeating the same trail counts. Get ready to have some fun physical activity while enjoying the beautiful scenery!
PRIZES: We will have two prize drawings; each winner will receive a C2BF hat!
CLICK HERE to learn more and register!
*Registration is required.
Congratulations, Kreighton Long, the winner our 150 Minutes Challenge prize drawing! We have a duffle bag to deliver to you shortly! Thank you to everyone that participated in this awesome, habit-building challenge.
POP Bucks Tokens
RCPS Families-- If you have participated in the POP Bucks Market Bags program and still have left over tokens, be sure to redeem them at the Rappahannock Farmers' Market by November 18th.
Fit Kids Clinic Open for RCPS Students and Staff
RCPS is excited to announce that the Fit Kids Clinic has reopened and is available to all RCPS students and staff. If your child gets sick at school, leaving work is not always easy. Telehealth makes it easier. With your consent, our telehealth presenter, Ms. Goode, will be able to use video telehealth technology to connect your child with a provider at Valley Health. In most cases, your child can be diagnosed without leaving school or you having to leave work. Conditions treated include: asthma, allergies, cough, colds, flu, ear aches, sore throats, fever, headaches, head lice, pink eye, and skin irritations. This clinic saves valuable time (for students and parents) and reduces absenteeism. The clinic is available for all students in grades PreK-12 with parental consent. Parents and Guardians- you can find the necessary paperwork at https://www.valleyhealthlink.com/about-us/school-based-telehealth-visits/
Walking Group- Join us on October 16th
WALKING GROUP WILL NOT BE HELD ON OCTOBER 9TH DUE TO THE HOLIDAY. We hope you can join us on Oct. 16th.
Description: Lace up your shoes and join us for Walking Group on Mondays! This group meets at 3:45 pm at the RCES flag pole. Whether you are competing in one of our physical activity challenges or you would like to get a few extra steps in, we would love for you to come out and walk with us! This group is open to the entire community. Tell your friends or bring them with you!
Nighttime Walk
Busy? Stressed? We all need time to unwind. Of course exercise such as walking is always recommended. Have you tried a nighttime walk? Daytime offers the possibility of so many interruptions. Traffic, phone calls, texts, and the fact there is just more going on during daylight hours can be anything but relaxing. Taking a good walk at night offers a time to relax, unwind, self-reflect, or not think about much at all. Think of it as a time to step away. Sometimes I think we have our heads down too often staring at a screen or other distraction and forget we can look up. So tonight, after the chores are complete, step outside, take a walk, and look up. Who knows what discovery may be made.
Importance of Stretching
After a long run or a hard strength training circuit, the last thing most of us want to even think about is stretching. I know I am bad about this myself! Even though it may seem like a hassle, it is important for our muscle health and muscle gains. Stretching keeps the muscles flexible and helps us maintain range of motion throughout the joints in our body, aiding in balance and preventing falls. Not taking the time to work on flexibility causes our muscles to shorten, tighten and in the long run, end up weakening because they are unable to extend all the way.
It may seem overwhelming with all the muscles that we have in our body. The most important thing to remember is to stretch the areas that are most crucial to mobility, especially your lower extremities (calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps). On days when you are using your upper body more, focus on stretching your shoulders, neck and lower back. Remember that one day of stretching every once in a while will not increase your flexibility. Much like strength and aerobic training, it takes weeks to months to become flexible and must be maintained. If you’re new to stretching, start with 2 days a week and bump it up until it becomes a habit!
Healthy Apple Pancakes
This week's recipe is Healthy Apple Pancake (made right in the blender) comes from Ambitious Kitchen and features our Harvest of the Month.
Introducing Staff Shout-Outs
RCPS Staff- C2BF invites you to share staff shout-outs to run in our weekly newsletter in the teachers tidbits section. We will run this throughout the semester, so feel free to submit as often as you like. Messages can be signed or anonymous; it's up to you. Let's spread kindness, happiness, and gratitude with positive notes!
CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S SHOUT-OUTS
· Special THANK YOU to the BEST FFA/AG Teacher husband out there --Mr. Robbie Fincham! -anonymous (sort of)
· Kayla Robey is a rockstar and fierce advocate for students. She works tirelessly to provide programming and support services to all students. Kayla is reliable, professional and a huge asset to this school division. Thank you Kayla for your commitment, passion and positive energy!! –anonymous
· Jermey Gates, you make movement fun for the kids. Thank you for all the effort you put into each of your classes. -anonymous
· Temple Murray- Thank you for all your help & support! I appreciate you! -Kimberly Jones
· Shout out to Viviana Tisera! -anonymous
· HUGE Thank you to RAY and HUNTER at RCES for making my life much easier in Farm-to-Table by bringing in all the soil and pea-gravel to the courtyard!! They did this on their own initiative! Thanks again! –anonymous
· Jenny Kapsa, your radiant energy, enthusiasm, and kind heart are such a gift! You truly inspire me, each and every day! -anonymous
· Shout out to Jen Wissinger, Carlos Seward, Dr. Grimsley, Dr. Bolt, and our fabulous custodians for your efforts in making the staff wellness rooms possible for our RCPS family. -C2BF
Staff Salad Bar Winners
The winners of this week's FREE salad bar coupon goes to Jill Atkins (RCES) and Sarah Moore (RCHS).
Improve Selective Attention with Movement Breaks
In a study by Janssen, M., et al., 123 students, ages 10-11 years old, were tested to measure selective attention, one of the executive functions of cognitive performance, following 4 different scenarios:
1. One hour of seated instruction and NO BREAK before continuing instruction
2. One hour of seated instruction and a PASSIVE BREAK (listening to a story)
3. One hour of seated instruction and MODERATE-INTENSITY BREAK (walking around, etc.)
4. One hour of seated instruction and VIGOROUS ACTIVITY BREAK (running, jumping rope, etc.)
The researchers found that of the 4 scenarios all three break options (passive, moderate, and vigorous) significantly improved selective attention, with the moderate-intensity break yielding the greatest response.
Source: Janssen, M., et al. "A short physical activity break from cognitive tasks increases selective attention in primary school children aged 10–11." Mental health and physical activity 7.3 (2014): 129-134.
Pictured Above: Ms. Pierce's high school students enjoyed 2 minutes of a movement version of Rock, Paper, Scissors (students that won the match had to go to the front of the room and square off with other "winners". Likewise, those that "lost" the initial match had to go to the back of the room and compete with someone else. The students continue to walk back and forth in the room depending on each match and compete with different classmates throughout. Using this same movement pattern, the students then completed 3 minutes of Quick Math (similar to first activity but students have to add up total fingers) Finally, students participated in 30 seconds of deep breathing to calm the body before returning to instruction. Check out the smiles on their faces! Thank you to Ms. Pierce for inviting C2BF into to the class room for this short brain break. :)
Teacher Resources
RCPS Teachers-- As a friendly reminder, we have a massive database of brain breaks (PreK-12) and movement games/activities with SOL and content integration ideas (PK-5). CLICK HERE to view the Teacher Resource page. If you prefer, the C2BF team would be happy to come to your classroom and lead a brain break, activity, or even a mindful minute. Email c2bf@rappahannockschools.us to schedule a push-in.
Commit to Be Fit is a school sponsored, grant funded program in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Through the generosity of the PATH Foundation, Commit to Be Fit was created to promote a culture of wellness in Rappahannock County Public Schools and the Rappahannock community.