Contributed Photo The Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative at Olga Brener Intermediate School will be led by, from left, front row, gym teacher Jessica Schneider and third-graders Alicyn Poulos, Aidan Preston, Brandon Reed, Catalina Vue and Abby Swartz; back row, gym teacher Rob Wolff and fifth-graders Allen Sanchez, Carter Schmidt, Nathan Edwards, Markie Chevalier and Daisha Seelig, and Principal Karen Smith.
Olga Brener Intermediate School in Shawano is participating in a nationwide wellness initiative.
Fuel Up to Play 60 is rallying schools and communities across the U.S. to support school wellness initiatives, good nutrition and physical activity, which help educate students and curb obesity. The program is sponsored by the National Dairy Council, National Football League and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Olga Brener Intermediate students are recruiting friends, parents, teachers and business and community leaders to join them in pledging to adopt healthier behaviors, such as choosing foods encouraged by the USDA and committing to 60 minutes of physical activity every day.
At Olga Brener, the fifth-grade class of Jenni Sperberg and third-grade class of Jenny Ballwahn have been selected for the Fuel Up to Play 60 school teams. The teams will lead the initiative in Olga Brener by creating classroom brain break videos, preparing classroom movement activity kits and sharing Monday Morning Movement announcements for the entire school.
The classes’ creations will be shared with the entire school and give all students a little boost to keep their brain going each day.
This initiative provides students with a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills and make positive changes in the school nutrition and fitness environment, according to school officials.
“Our school is in a unique position to influence the eating and physical activity habits of students,” said Jessica Schneider, physical education teacher at both Olga Brener and Hillcrest Primary School. “We need communitywide support to help our students build positive, lifelong habits, and Fuel Up to Play 60 provides the healthy messages, resources and activities we need to get started.”