Commit to Be Fit Newsletter
April 18th, 2022
26 January 2024/ Issue No. 272
Reading, Spelling, and Movement
This semester, the BrainSTAR (Strengthening Through Action Repetition) ABL Lab is focusing on movement-based literacy activities. In collaboration with Ms. Katherine Todd, RCES Reading Specialist, we are finetuning our stations to further promote literacy growth. While the lab has incorporated sight word review and curriculum integration activities in the past, this new focus will help to further cement reading concepts learned in the classrooms for the young BrainSTARs. Stay tuned for more exciting updates from this movement literacy lab.
Community Line Dancing
On Saturday, January 20th, participants of all ages enjoyed two hours of line dancing, featuring Karen's Line Dancing! Everyone learned easy steps to music from country, pop, and hip hop genres. During the event, we collected roughly 29 lbs. of canned goods, which were donated to the Rappahannock Food Pantry! Thank you to Karen and all of the participants that joined us for this fun event!
Harvest of the Month
Thursday was Harvest of the Month Day at RCES, and the kiddos learned about sweet potatoes from Mallory Grady, Regional Farm to School Associate, and Commit to Be Fit. Many students agreed that the roasted sweet potatoes seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic powder were yummy!
Classroom Push-ins
We LOVE visiting classrooms to lead movement-based review activities. This week, we tried out a fun relay activity in Ms. Deal's class. Students were divided into teams and had to identify sight words by tapping them with fly swatters. The team that identified each word first celebrated with jumping jacks. The push-in concluded with a mindfulness lesson.
Walking Group
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!
Now that we are in winter, there may be times that school is closed due to weather. Walking Group will not meet when school is not in session. We will email our newsletter subscribers if there is a cancellation. School closures will be announced on the RCPS website as well.
Be Sure to Read Nutrition Labels
Natural, gluten free, made with whole grains, no added sugar, no cholesterol, 0 net carbs, 100 calorie. The list goes on. Every trip to the grocery store bombards us with words and phrases trying to persuade us to drop that “healthy” food in our shopping cart. With so many misleading labels designed to grab your attention, it can be difficult to discern between nutrition information and clever marketing.
Just because the packaging on the food makes it seem healthy does not mean it’s the better choice. No cholesterol or no gluten is put on labels of foods never containing those ingredients in the first place. No added sugar does not mean no sugar. It just means no sugar was added during the manufacturing process. I think my favorite is 0 net carbs. Initially looking at the package one might think the food contains no carbs. What’s really happening is the manufacturer is taking into account the fiber content and subtracting it from the actual carbs making it seem there are no carbs contained in the food.
So next time you’re making your selection, ignore the front of the food package. As an alternative, look at the nutrition label which will have the most helpful information. The nutrition label will contain the intended serving size, servings per container, actual ingredients, and more, instead of persuasive buzz words.
Tips to Help with Exercise Burnout
Are you experiencing an exercise burnout? Many of us might have started a new health journey this year. Whether you are participating in the Transformation or Superintendent Challenge, or starting an exercise routine of your own, it is important to listen and be mindful of your body if you start to experience a burnout. Everyone runs into a lack of motivation, especially when starting something new, and that’s okay, but sometimes when we push our bodies harder than they are used to for too long, it can cause mental and physical exhaustion. If you feel your body is experiencing a fitness burnout some signs might include a prolonged lack of motivation, severely fatigued, poor performance during activity, constant aches and soreness throughout the body and difficulty controlling emotions. If you ever start feeling run down, here are a few tips to help keep your body happy and healthy!
Take active recovery days- Go for a walk or take a yoga class instead of an intense cardio or strength workout
Change routine- Our bodies can get easily stressed with repetitive workout cycles. Sometimes a slight change in our routine can help get us back on track. Switch the weights for cardio on an elliptical or bike. If you’re doing intense cardio, try some functional strength exercises.
Check in with your diet- Make sure you are fueling your body with the right amount of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats). Lack of any one of these could be the culprit of a burnout. Remember almost 50% of our daily intake should be carbohydrates to help up maintain energy levels. Our protein intake should be around 25% because it takes care of our muscle recovery and regeneration.
Prioritize your sleep- Lack of sleep can cause an imbalance of hormones and the way our body takes care of our muscles. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night, especially when starting something new.
Stretching- Stretching is an important component to the workout itself! It keeps our muscles flexible and reduces fatigue and soreness.
It is OKAY to take a few rest days- Our bodies work better when they feel better.
BBQ Chicken Twice-Baked Potatoes
This recipe comes from Delish and features our Harvest of the Month, sweet potatoes. To view the recipe, CLICK HERE.
Mindful Minute Push-ins
RCES Teachers-- Commit to Be Fit is excited to offer mindful minute push-ins to our classrooms this year! Practicing mindfulness can help students and teachers understand/cope with emotions and better manage stress. Push-ins will be 5-10 minutes and will focus on breathing, movement and focusing exercises. You can take the time to practice mindfulness with us or take a few minutes for a quick break (or visit our reset room!).
If you see one of us from the team with our Mindful Minute sign at your door, just give us a thumbs up or down if its a good time to come in an do an activity with your class. You can also reach out to us if there is a time you would like us to come to your room. We hope this helps create an environment of calmness and kindness for everyone in our school community!
RCES Reset Room
RCES Staff- Do you ever feel you could use a quick reset? It's amazing what a few minutes of relaxation and deep breathing can do to change your mood. C2BF invites you to visit our Reset Room. Each day from 9:30-10:30 am, the ABL lab will be transformed into a relaxing oasis, complete with dimmed lighting, tranquil sounds, and calming images projected onto the wall. Grab a bean bag chair and take a moment to let go of your stress in this immersive, peaceful environment. Additionally, we encourage you to bring in any students who may benefit from this experience as well.
Teachers- feel free to email us (c2bf@rappahannockschools) if you would like for us to cover class for a few minutes. We would be happy to come in and lead a classroom mindfulness activity while you enjoy a quick reset.
The winners of this week's FREE salad bar coupon goes to Morgan Molina (RCES) and Stephanie Cash (RCHS).
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.