April 12, 2018

 

students exercising in the classroom

 

顶级国产视频 students assist SHAC in promoting nutrition in Billings Schools

SHAC awards teacher鈥檚 cooperative efforts

 

Contacts:

University Communications and Marketing, 657-2266

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES 鈥� The Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) created by Billings School District 2 (SD2), in partnership with The Billings YMCA, has awarded McKinley Elementary School teacher Mark Kane with a Fitness in the Classroom Innovation Award.

 

Kane, a fifth-grade instructor with five years鈥� experience at McKinley, is an enthusiastic advocate of providing 鈥渂rain breaks鈥� in the classroom. 鈥淕etting my students out of their seats and giving their minds a break throughout their day helps my students maintain their focus,鈥� said Kane.

 

Kane uses an educational application built by Chrome called, 鈥淢ove It!鈥� that allows teachers to set predetermined time for physical breaks from seated education. Kane chooses every 30 minutes for the program to ring a tone of disengagement that allows students to stand up and activate their bodies.

 

The Move It! app then randomly selects an exercise for the class to do. Examples include stretching, dancing, running in place, and other entertaining instructions that Kane鈥檚 students happily welcome. Kane鈥檚 dedication to a healthy environment doesn鈥檛 stop there.

 

Every Friday, his students show off their culinary skills with 鈥淪oup Fridays.鈥� Kane provides ingredients for his pupils to build a soup that they give to under-privileged students to take home for the weekend.

 

These programs have proven quite successful, and are critical to address the 39 percent of individuals in Yellowstone County who are at high risk for poor nutrition, low physical activity, and unhealthy weight, according to Riverstone Health.

 

The SHAC/YMCA award recognizes educators who promote fitness in the classroom with a $100 gift card to the school. Kane will allow his class to decide how to spend their reward. Ideas so far include a swimming pool exercise at the YMCA, a trampoline park trip, or a schoolyard picnic.

 

This semester, MSU Billings public relations students are assisting SHAC, a voluntary advisory committee to SD2 that promotes mental health, fitness, and nutrition for Billings鈥� public school students.

 

For more information, contact Dr. Sarah Keller, assistant professor of public relations, skeller@msubillings.edu or 896-5824.