Roosevelt sixth graders and MeritCare develop school-wide wellness survey
What makes a healthy student? Ginny Marr's sixth grade class at Roosevelt Elementary School in Fargo gave that question a serious look, then helped developed a survey that was taken last spring by all of the school's first through sixth graders.
"We were so impressed with the kinds of questions the sixth-grade students came up with," says Sheree Lavelle-Konewko, manager of Wellness Services at MeritCare, who, along with others at MeritCare, worked with Roosevelt students in developing and analyzing the survey as part of the Adopt-a-School program. "We expected questions related to eating habits, physical activity and safety, but we didn't expect questions such as whether or not students liked themselves, had friends and were happy at home. Those are questions that really get at well-being, and thanks to the students, those questions were part of the survey."
The survey is one aspect of the Adopt-a-School program between MeritCare and Roosevelt Elementary. The partnership is a project in which students, teachers and MeritCare associates will collaborate on a variety of health-related issues.
Mrs. Marr's class took on the survey project as part of their math class, but they learned much more than math, say students Sara Habel, Josh Mead and Chris Cusey, now seventh graders at Ben Franklin Junior High in Fargo. Chris, for example, was surprised at how the other students reacted to the survey: "They took it a lot more seriously than we thought they would." Josh was interested to learn many of the older students didn't think they were getting enough sleep. Sara was impressed with the high level of physical activity reported by many students. And all three had ideas for how adults can help young people improve their health:
* Sara: "Get kids involved in sports so they don't have time to experiment with alcohol and smoking."
* Chris: "Make sure kids get three meals a day. And try not to let them hang around with the wrong group."
* Josh: "Don't let kids watch too much TV, and make sure they get enough sleep."
The survey has already prompted action. To improve bike-helmet use, which the survey indicated was low, students who were "caught" wearing bike helmets last spring were eligible for a drawing. During the 1999-2000 school year, more wellness activities will likely follow, as will more youth-mentoring opportunities.
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