School wellness is a policy the Pearl River County School District works to implement and improve upon every year, Kimberly Alford, the District’s wellness coordinator said during Monday’s PRC School Board meeting.
Alford shared with the Board the success of last year’s multiple wellness projects and events before covering next year’s goals for the upcoming school year.
“School wellness was successfully implemented this year with the help of every wellness council member,” she said.
Alford covered three highlights from the 2016-17 school year, each of which was a wellness event that made strides in improving the knowledge and wellness of students and their families.
In the District’s first year holding the fall fitness event on November 17, Alford said they received enough positive feedback to hold the event another year. The event took place at the PRCMS walking track, where a variety of wellness booths educated children on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The final two highlights involved two schools within the District receiving wellness grants. The upper elementary received the Blue Cross Blue Shield Project Fit America grant and the high school received the Mississippi Healthcare Alliance CPR Program grant, which Alford said helped fund CPR equipment for the upcoming school year.
“This grant helps a lot because we will not have to purchase the CPR supplies with District funds,” she said.
Along with focusing on the positives from the previous school year, Alford reported two areas that could be improved upon during her annual wellness report.
The first improvement focused on new legislation against bullying.
“We want to place a strong focus on bullying on every campus in the District,” Alford said.
The program involved promoting anti-bullying awareness among the staff and throughout the community.
The second area wellness councils want to focus on involves raising funds for a playground on the PRC Lower Elementary campus.
Additional coverage of the PRC School Board meeting will be featured in Wednesday’s edition of the Item.