BJHS named among the healthiest schools
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| Debben Pettie, 13, shows-off her milk mustache to Principal Sue Silvey after Bloomington Junior High School was named one of the 25 "Healthiest Student Bodies" in the nation. Pettie nominated her school through the bodybymilk.com. and wrote an essay about the physical education program, it's outdoor adventure program, and its healthy food choices. Pettie's essay was selected out of hundreds and was the second school in the state of Illinois to recieve the honor. (Pantagraph/B Mosher) |
Wednesday, November 7, 2007 3:30 PM CST
BLOOMINGTON — More than 150 seventh-graders
cheered a fellow Bloomington Junior High School student for her role
in their being named one of the 25 “healthiest student bodies” in
the nation.
Debben Pettie, 13, nominated her school on
bodybymilk.com for its health
and wellness programs and various athletic teams this summer. Her
essay was chosen from among hundreds of entries in the America’s
Healthiest Student Bodies contest sponsored by the Got Milk? Milk
Mustache Campaign.
She wrote about the school’s physical education program, its
Outdoor
Education program and its healthy food choices.
A Springfield high school was the only other Illinois school to be
so honored for its commitment to helping students maintain healthy
lifestyles.
“I wanted kids who do healthy stuff at the school to get recognized
for what they do,” said Pettie.
She is on the school’s basketball team and is looking forward to
participating in the school’s upcoming outdoor education program,
which includes a five day
campout for all seventh grade students next spring. The school has
offered the Outdoor Education program for 35 years, said Deb Shaw, one
its coordinators.
The school also was recognized for some of the new things it offers,
including plastic milk bottles and flavored milk. It was the first
junior high school in Illinois to introduce them, said Kristin
Lucas, a spokeswoman for the milk campaign.
Since the new containers and flavored milk were introduced a little
more than two years ago, milk consumption at the school increased by
16 percent, said Connie Mueller, District 87’s director of food
services. Students at the school drink about 1,200 bottles of milk a
day, she said.
Other changes in the school’s menu in recent years include the
removal of traditional potato chips, the reduction of dessert sizes
and replacement of traditional high-fat snacks with healthy ones.
Students have eaten $6,000 to $8,000 worth of fresh fruit and
vegetables at the school since the school year started, Mueller
said.
The America’s Healthiest Student Bodies campaign was developed in
part because there are an estimated 12.5 million overweight children
in America — a number that has tripled in the last two decades,
Lucas said. The campaign’s goal is to promote milk consumption in
place of sugary drinks.
Pettie’s teachers wore black T-shirts that said “Debben Day” on the
front and “Got Milk?” on the back. Her shirt said, “I am Debben.”
“People I don’t even know said ‘hi’ to me. The teachers said, ‘good
job,’ and I got lots of smiles,” she said.
Pettie received prizes from Addidas and iTunes, and Bloomington
Junior High received a plaque and a $1,000 check. Pettie, the
outdoor adventure teachers and the physical education team will
determine how to spend the money, Principal Sue Silvey said.
All of Pettie’s 150 seventh grade 7B team classmates received free milk and colorful
straws donated by Swiss Valley Farms and the Got Milk campaign.
“It’s an honor to be selected as one of the healthiest schools,”
Silvey said at the assembly.
The contest judges came from the School Nutrition Association and
the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.
Article courtesy of the Bloomington Daily Pantagraph Newspaper.