Coordinated+Health


 * The 8 components of Coordinated Health** are: 1) Physical education, 2) health education, 3) health services, 4) counseling, including, drug, violence prevention, 5) safety/environmental education, 6) nutrition education, 7) staff wellness, and 8) community and parental involvement and education.

Members SB 892 states:
 * NAME || ROLE || EMAIL ||
 * DAVIS, TAMI || PARENT || tamidavis52@yahoo.com ||
 * GRATT, FRAN || ADMINISTRATOR || fgratt@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * HANNA, SUSAN || LMS || shanna@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * HIGGINS, LYNETTE || TEACHER || lhiggins@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * JOHNSON, KATHY || NURSE || kjohnson@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * KANADY, SONJA || CAFETERIA || skanady@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * MILLER, MELINDA || COACH || memiller@mckinneyisd.net ||
 * NELSON, JANET || COUNSELOR || jnelson@mckinneyisd.net ||

Each campus will have a coordinated health team consisting of an administrator, nurse, physical education/health teacher, counselor, classroom teacher, cafeteria personnel, and PTA or other parent representing the 8 components of coordinated health. This committee will follow the district Coordinated Health/Safe & Drug Free Schools/Wellness Committee (SHAC) guidelines and approved programs. The team shall meet at least 4 times per school year and will maintain documentation of sign in sheet, minutes of each meeting and log of Active Life website. A compilation of this documentation will be provided to the district committee annually in March in objective and CIP format provided. The parent serving on the campus coordinated health committee will also be a member of the District SHAC Committee.

State/MISD Goal: __The students in the public education system will be provided with educational opportunities that address safety, health, nutrition, substance abuse, and violence prevention to improve in the overall wellness of the students, staff as well as community members by promoting health lifestyles and awareness.__

Wolford Coordinated Health Team Meeting Schedule for 2011-12- 3:30pm on November 1, 2011, January 31, 2012, March 6, 2012, May 1, 2012 Events 2012January 27- Jump Rope for Heart/Hoops for HeartFebruary 2- K and 1st Dental presentationFebruary 9- Family Fitness Night 6:30pmMarch 7- Parent Preview for 5th Grade Growth and DevelopmentMarch 9- 2nd grade Dental presentationMarch 21- Parent Drug Awareness Night at Boyd HS 6:30-8:30pmApril 13- Wolford PTA Carnival, 5-8pMay 4- Wolford Field Day AND Get Fit McKinney Event at Ron Poe Stadium 6-8pmMay 17- 4th Grade Growth and DevelopmentMay 25- 5th Grade Growth and Development Active Life Website [|Active Life Website]

Parent Strategies For Healthier Children: A School Nurse’s Perspective
 * 1) Teach Your Child Healthy Habits: Teaching children to cover coughs and sneezes, hand washing with soap and using hand sanitizer are important health strategies. Most germs are passed on hands. The single most important way to prevent illness is by hand washing. If you are able, provide your child’s teacher with hand sanitizer, or antibacterial wipes. These items can stop the germ cycle in your child’s classroom. It is a gift of health you can give the children in your child’s class. While on the topic of classrooms, teachers are important role models for your children. Be supportive of your child’s teacher, teachers are allies for your child’s well being. Approach this relationship in a collaborative way. Teachers really do have your child’s best interest at heart.
 * 2) Express the Expectation for Health: “Like the expectation for success, children believe you, and will fulfill your expectations.” Gerri Harvey. Often we give children a lot more attention for illness than for wellness. We need to start praising children in their efforts toward wellness and for healthy choices that lead to optimum health. Children rise to the expectations that you set.
 * 3) Make Exercise a Family Priority: Start by taking an evening walk together every night. It becomes a chance for families to reconnect and provides an opportunity to talk, away from diversions. Exercise is well known to decrease the adverse effects of stress, and stress can often leads to illness. As you walk, talk about the positive effects of physical activity on the mind, body and soul.
 * 4) Find the Balance: Rest and Relaxation: While getting active is a great healthy strategy, so is rest and relaxation, it also teaches children the importance of balance in their lives. Schedule a day for your family to relax together with a picnic at Towne Lake or a day of fishing. Express the positive effects that are felt at the end of the day. Talk about feeling recharged and more focused for the week ahead. Set a good example by using positive ways to cope with stress in your own life.
 * 5) An Apple A Day: Healthy Nutrition: Add more fruits and veggies to the family’s diet. A healthier diet including fruits and vegetables can help to eliminate symptoms of constipation. Constipation is the number one cause for most stomachaches in school-aged children today.
 * 6) Just Add Water: Hydration: Encourage children to drink more water. Replace soft drinks with water. Many symptoms that cause time out of class for children can be attributed to inadequate hydration including headaches and stomachaches (caused by constipation).

Teaching Self-Responsibility: In the words of Gerri Harvey, school nurse and advocate for children…”Empower children by teaching self-responsibility for health and comfort by giving positive reinforcement for their healthy choices and for self-care. Don’t foster the idea that health and comfort can only come from medicine, a nurse “fixing” it, or others taking care of everything for them.” “Consider the concept that medical professionals are resources to help us stay well, but that we are responsible for our own wellness by the choices we make.” Encourage age appropriate self comfort techniques, such as washing minor scrapes and applying band-aids themselves. Have children help prepare their own lunches and praise them for their healthful choices.

Make Time to Play Together: Find an activity you can do together based on their skills and interests. Take time to play cards, board games or even badminton. Playing and modeling sportsmanship, gracious winning and losing, and sharing are all skills that will help them learn social skills and achieve healthy friendships.

Face the Consequence: Allow your child to face natural consequences of their behavior. As a parent it is not easy to watch your child struggle. Sometimes we are tempted to rescue our child from challenging situations. However, this will not allow your child the opportunity to develop the skills needed to help them adapt to those challenges. Bringing homework, lunches, and other forgotten items to school for children provides a temporary fix for their problem but does not help them learn the organizational skills or problem solving strategies to help them be successful. Instead they learn dependency not independence.

Teach Coping Skills: As adults, we know the world can be a very stressful place. Our children face many challenging situations that we never knew growing up. Many people in today’s society turn to drugs and alcohol because they do not know how to cope with stress. Many of our young people are riddled with anxieties, and panic attacks. Teaching children positive coping skills gives them the ability to handle life’s stressors. Equipping children early with coping strategies for stress reduction will increase their awareness and choices for healthy lifestyles over negative choices like substance abuse and illness. All nine previously mentioned health strategies fall under the coping skills umbrella. All provide children tools for dealing with stress. As parents we have an opportunity to teach these coping skills to equip children for adulthood. We can provide opportunities to talk and listen to their concerns and fears. We can acknowledge their struggles and help them push through them in a positive way. Writing in a journal or drawing pictures of their issues, talking to a mentor, relative or friend are all positive outlets for children’s struggles. Most importantly, model healthy coping skills. Your kids look to you to see what to do. Being a good role model isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being resilient. It’s about facing life’s struggles and rising above them. And that’s a great lesson for anyone, but especially for children.