Holy Spirit Central School
NORWAY-VULCAN AREA SCHOOLS
DICKINSON County
201 Saginaw Street
Norway, Michigan 49870
Enrollment: 54
Private/Non-Public School
Success Story Contact:
Jan Cayemberg
Secretary
Phone: 906-563-8817
Email: holyspirit01@hotmail.com
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Success Story Information:
Reach: - Building level
- Classroom level
Duration: 1 to 3 months
Costs: - Materials/supplies
- $100 or less
Factors for Success: - Coordinated School Health Team
- Completing an assessment (such as Healthy School Action Tool Assessment, School Health Index, Changing the Scene)
- Administrative support
- Funding
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SCHOOL LUNCH
SUCCESS STORY
Each new school starts fresh in the fall. This year at Holy Spirit School in Norway, we were determined to begin on the right foot; literally, adopting a wellness program that is not just on paper and involves all of our children and adults despite age or disability. We had a large agenda; we introduced whole grain in our school lunch program; implemented nutrition into our curriculum; made our breakfast a more healthy one by adding home made products rather than just cold cereal; and we changed our recess time to before lunch.
The first order of business for physical activity was realizing how many places we could actually walk to. With rocketing fuel prices this saves the school money on fuel and most importantly gives all of us the extra exercise we deserve.
Our School sits high on a hill surrounded by acres of trees and fields. Skirting through our property is the city of Norway nature trail and shallow stream. We can walk/bike from our property both north and south. First off, each Friday our entire school attends mass. Instead of using a bus we are walking from mass to school to start our day off right. Even Science and Social Studies have become a part of this wellness program. Science class walks include regular nature walks that allow for exploring areas studied such as plants, animals, pond and stream habitats, conservation, and recycling. For Social Studies there is no better way to learn about your community than actually experiencing it. Walking through downtown to visit the local grocer, seeing our post office, barber shop and even where our town newspaper is created. How easy it is to miss these educational opportunities as we all zoom by in our cars. This type of wellness has presented numerous educational opportunities.
We are even incorporating walking into behavioral aspects of our school. When students are frustrated, over stimulated, troubled, or simply can’t seem to get on the right path that day they have the opportunity to walk/run or walk and talk it out with a staff member. When coming back to the class room setting they are ready to get right back on task without frustration or disruption. It allows them to release excess energy in a positive way. Our first step has proven to be a huge success towards our endeavor in increasing nutritional and physical well being.
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