eNewsletter | Fuel Up To Play 60

January 2012

This eNewsletter is a companion to the Fuel Up to Play 60 program, designed to help you manage and guide students as they lead the way toward school wellness!

News You Can Use

What do you get when you bring together a P.E. teacher and a registered dietitian? A successful Fuel Up to Play 60 program!

When Celeste Martell - Program Advisor and P.E. teacher at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Florida - first started implementing Fuel Up to Play 60, she thought to herself, "What the heck am I going to do?"

Then a representative of her local Dairy Council connected her with a registered dietitian who Celeste says "really helped the program open up." Celeste and her student leaders have been working with Nancy Ouhib, a registered dietitian from the Kids Eat Right program, an initiative of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation (formerly the American Dietetic Association Foundation).

Celeste and Nancy meet with student leaders on a monthly basis, and together, they take student-generated ideas and run with them. Their collaboration has resulted in events such as "Dairy Day," where students took part in blind taste tests of half a dozen kinds of low-fat cheeses and several types of low-fat yogurts. The school has also started a Walk It! Club and a student-led weight room.

Above: Registered dietitian Nancy Ouhib (left) and Program Advisor and P.E. teacher Celeste Martell participate in a milk mustache booth at J.P. Taravella High School in Coral Springs, Florida. Read more about Taravella's successful Fuel Up to Play 60 program.

Program Updates

Fuel Up to Play 60 supports Let's Move!

Fuel Up to Play 60 is working to support Let's Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama's initiative dedicated to solving childhood obesity in a generation. Working together to strengthen each program's efforts to improve the overall health of our nation's youth, the two programs rally schools to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) through participation in Fuel Up to Play 60. To learn more about the shared goals of Fuel Up to Play 60 and Let's Move!, click here.

Free national webinar to feature two Program Advisors

A free national webinar highlighting two Fuel Up to Play 60 Program Advisors will be held Thursday, January 26, 4:00-5:00 p.m. Eastern. Titled "Fuel Up to Play 60: Kick It Off and Get Support from Your School," the webinar will feature Ples Robinson (former science and P.E. teacher, Grapevine Middle School, Grapevine, Texas) and Emily Natalie (English as a Second Language teacher, Harding Elementary School, Erie, Pennsylvania). The webinar will be co-hosted by Fuel Up to Play 60 and Action for Healthy Kids. To register for the free national webinar, click here.

Time to vote for the 2012 Summer Challenge

Yes, it's winter, but Fuel Up to Play 60 is thinking summer! Voting for the Fuel Up to Play 60 Summer Challenge has started! So far, "Dance Party" is in the lead, with "Obstacle Course" and "Go Green" not too far behind. Encourage students to sign into their Dashboards at FuelUpToPlay60.com to vote for their favorite. Voting closes March 9.

January is National Family Fit Lifestyle Month

January is the perfect time to reach out to parents to encourage healthy eating and physical activity at home. Consider hosting one of these Physical Activity or Kickoff and Promotion Plays: "Family, Food and Fitness Day," "Family Fitness Challenge" or "School and Community Health Fair." This is also a great time to reach out to families through a "Parent Newsletter" or through a letter home to parents.

Healthy Weight Week is January 15-21

The week of January 15-21 has been designated as the 19th annual "Healthy Weight Week." What a great time to send the message to students that healthy eating and physical activity can help them achieve and maintain a healthy weight. "Healthy Weight Week" is not about dieting - but about making healthy choices. Think about implementing a Healthy Eating Play. We've got them in four categories: Bring on Breakfast; Cafeteria Restyle; Making Nutritious Foods Fun; and Try It, You'll Like It.

Contest winners named

Jenice Momber, a Program Advisor in Brethren, Michigan, and Jacqueline Haynes, a Program Supporter in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, are November's national "spotlight" winners in the Fuel Up to Play 60 monthly activation contest. They won $500 prize packs featuring gear from the Fuel Up to Play 60 Store and NFL. They're joined by 102 other individuals who won $100 prize packs. To learn more about how the monthly activation contest works, click here.

Upcoming Deadlines

Fuel Up to Play 60/Action for Healthy Kids webinar: 1/26
Student Ambassador Program: application deadline 1/31
Funds for Fuel Up to Play 60: application deadline 2/1
NFL PLAY 60 Bus Contest: deadline to enter 2/10
Voting for Summer Challenge ends 3/9

Has your school applied for Funds for Fuel Up to Play 60? Your school has the opportunity to receive $4,000 through the competitive, nationwide funding program. The next application deadline is February 1 – so if your school hasn't applied, now's the time!

videos Is your school a Fuel Up to Play 60 Touchdown School? Now is your chance to work toward this special, new honor. Schools that complete all Six Steps by April 1 will be recognized with this award and will receive a display banner for their school. To learn more, click here.

Night Walk Do you know student leaders who are passionate
about healthy eating and physical activity and
would be interested in taking their participation in
Fuel Up to Play 60 to the next level? Encourage
them to apply to the 2012-13 State Representative
and National Student Ambassador Program for a
chance to represent their school at the Student
Ambassador Summit in Washington, D.C.,
this July. Applications are available at FuelUpToPlay60.com on students' Dashboards and will be accepted through January 31.

Above: Fuel Up to Play 60 State Representatives, National Student Ambassadors and their Program Advisors gather in front of the White House during the 2011 Student Ambassador Summit.

This month's "Activate Educators" column is written by Cassie Brooks, a Program Advisor at Brownsburg West Middle School in Brownsburg, Indiana.

To build a really successful Fuel Up to Play 60 program, you need to reach out to administrators, staff, parents and the entire community. Here are a few things I have learned in doing so at my school.

Try to understand what motivates each administrator in your building. For example, your principal might be interested in getting positive publicity for the school - and what better way to do that than a winning Fuel Up to Play 60 program.
Take every opportunity to talk to staff members about your Fuel Up to Play 60 program. Share your ideas with classroom teachers, lunch supervisors, the athletic director - anyone you'd like to have on board. Before you actually try to initiate change, talk about your ideas and get everyone excited about what's possible. Plant the seed before you propose the change.
Get your PTA or PTO on board. At our school, the Parent Support Group has been instrumental in helping us make changes. When parents expect these changes, that will have an impact on staff and administrators.
Pull the community in. For example, we hosted a Family Fitness Night and had representatives from the local hospital, the YMCA, gyms, a Pilates studio and the roller skating rink.
If someone mentions Fuel Up to Play 60 in any way, take that as an opportunity to say more about the program. It's great to get kudos on special events, but make sure everyone knows the bigger picture.

Right: Students work out at Family Fitness Night at Brownsburg West Middle School in Brownsburg, Indiana.

NFL Corner

Need money to reach even more kids and have even more fun with Fuel Up to Play 60? Then this is your lucky day! NFL PLAY 60 is sending the PLAY 60 Bus to one deserving community, and we want it to be yours! If a cafeteria makeover, a gym refurbishment or new uniforms for the sports teams sound like things you might need, click here to enter and tell the NFL why your school needs help with continuing to Fuel Up to Play 60. You may end up winning just what you ask for! The contest closes on February 10, so don't delay!

Featured Resources

Featured Resource: Updated Tracker

With the updated Fuel Up to Play 60 Tracker (available on paper as well as online at the student Dashboard), students can continue to track their food choices each day and make sure they're getting enough servings from all MyPlate food groups, including protein. And remember: tracking is just the beginning. Help students build ongoing healthy eating habits by implementing one of our Healthy Eating Plays.

Cooking Programs Teach Teamwork, Nutrition

Fourth graders who participated in integrated nutrition education programs do not consider cooking-related tasks chores and tried a variety of new foods, according to a small study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. The Cooking with Kids programs incorporated math, geography and problem-solving skills into nutrition lessons. Cooking with Kids can be a reference for nutritious and free recipes that can be used with Healthy Eating Plays.

Interventions Work, But Parents Need to Know

A review of 55 studies published in the Cochrane Library found that school-based physical education and healthy eating interventions have a positive effect on children. Successful interventions included emphasis on activity and nutrition, inclusion of families and teacher training - all the more reason to share your Fuel Up to Play 60 program with parents. When parents know about the program, they can reinforce key messages at home.

News You Can Use

What do you get when you bring together a P.E. teacher and a registered dietitian? A successful Fuel Up to Play 60 program!