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The Howard Drive Elementary PTA recognized a need in the 2020-21 school year for a focus on wellness. Not only from the standpoint of preventing the spread of COVID-19, but also because the pandemic has threatened the health of students and their families both mentally and due to less physical activity.
The reduction in human contact and spending time with friends affected many in the form of depression and the restriction of recess, playdates, and extracurricular activities that once provided students with the exercise that is essential to human wellbeing, affected physical health.
Howard Drive Elementary’s PTA launched an initiative that has been fostered through multiple programs and purchases that have provided students with both a safer environment at school as well as by promoting a focus on physical and mental health.
As the school year began and information about how the virus was spreading was lacking, fear was abundant among parents especially when students were able to return to school in October 2020.
“We had so many questions about what the school and district were doing to keep students safe,” reported Deanna Dalby, principal of Howard Drive Elementary. “Besides protocol detailed by the district, we worked in conjunction with our PTA to provide our school with every safety measure possible to instill confidence that our students were as protected from virus spread as they could be.”
The PTA purchased mask lanyards for all returning students to prevent mask contamination due to falling on the ground or losing their mask altogether. Every in-person student received a lanyard on the first day of school. The PTA then raised over $5,000 via GoFundMe and acquired two sponsors, RCI Air Inc. and 4 Chambers Cardiology, who each donated $1,000 toward the purifiers. Purifiers were purchased for every classroom as well as for common areas such as the office and cafeteria.
Focusing on mental health, school counselor Sueanne Moses spoke to parents at a PTA meeting regarding signs of depression to look for in students and what parents should do if they suspected their child was dealing with any mental health issues.
“We are seeing more cases of students having behavior issues or who are withdrawing from social activities in class. Bringing awareness to parents helps them identify certain warnings they may not have realized were linked to depression” Moses said.
Focusing on the physical wellbeing of students, the PTA introduced a Wellness Bingo that included activities such as trying a new vegetable, taking a family walk, and refraining from playing video games for one day. If students completed one BINGO, they received a jump rope, for two or more BINGO’s they received the jump rope and a frisbee, and if they completed the entire card, they received both gifts plus a rainbow sports ball. The program was overwhelmingly successful, with nearly half of all students completing the entire card.
The year culminated in two final activities, one being the Walk to Wellness, which was brought to the school community in collaboration with Boosterthon, a company that provides a fundraising program that earns money per lap in a typically on premises run.
Howard Drive Elementary’s PTA, alongside Boosterthon, modified the usual programming to account for district and CDC guidance, offering an at-home walk where families walked 35-minutes on a Saturday and ending with a sweet reward at Coral Reef Park where Kona Ice was stationed for thirsty walkers to quench their thirst and satisfy their sweet tooth.
Although the event was a fundraiser, families were encouraged to join regardless to promote physical activity. A class participation incentive only required students to register online for the event, not to donate funds, as an assurance that anyone could take part.
Lastly, the school’s PTA applied for several grants over the course of the year and was awarded the Healthy Hydration Grant from Nestle and Florida PTA. This grant was used to promote healthy choices in drinks and included an activity that demonstrated the amount of sugar in juices, sodas and other less healthy options. Students received an animal themed hand sanitizer dispenser for completing the program and six lucky raffle winners received an LED light-up water bottle or a light-up scooter.
“Our goal this year was to not only provide health-related programming to students and families, but also to be able to reach every student whether they were in school or remote,” stated Jane Cannings, Howard Drive Elementary PTA board member. “At Howard Drive we always say that a student is never just a face in the crowd and we worked hard to continue to provide that same level of service despite the challenges of the pandemic.”
