Physical Activity and Mental Health

PPE 310 : Vance Miller

Morgan Grieser
March 22nd, 2016

Practical Implications
Weekly Activity
To encourage physical activity at Las Sendas Elementary, there should be a weekly
fitness activity integrated into a daily lesson. These activities, also called Game On
(refer to Appendix F), should be communicated to parents and teachers by weekly
newsletter. Because physical activities go hand in hand good mental health, it is
important that parents and teachers should be on board to promote healthy living with
students.
Newsletter
The weekly newsletter will be given to students twice and month to as a Friday
Folder handout. The newsletters will be made by the student council and a partnership
with a committee of teachers who create all the activities and articles bi-weekly. The
teachers and office staff with complete and publish the newsletters throughout each week.
Each newsletter will include physical activity ideas for at-home use, resources for healthy
eating, and current school and state health statistics. The information will also include
what the bi-weekly exercise activity and lesson will be and how they are beneficial to the
child.
The Game On proposal includes a PowerPoint presentation, with all
information provided by the Action for Healthy Kids program (See Appendix F), that will
be presented to the staff, and the PTO during a monthly professional development day.
The presentation will include the amount of money the school will receive while
participating in the program, and many statistics about the effects the program will have
on our students mental health, and a motivational video. In this presentation, the
newsletter committee will be an introduced idea, and the physical education teachers will
have a chance to discuss their ideas on the program, while also endorsing it. The final

portion of the presentation will be a model of what a month would look like if Las Sendas
were to participate in the program. This will include a newsletter calendar, and a physical
activity calendar as well.
Before any of the activities or committees are put in place, the principal, physical
education teachers, and the PTO must discuss all information included in the Game On
program. The presentation will be discussed between all parties involved and analyzed to
make sure no other elements needs to be added to the schools action plan and application.
The proposal will then be sent to all parents and then be discussed in the PTO meeting
that all parents will be informed of. After the administration, the parents, and the staff
haven been informed of the proposed action plan, then the team will sit down and fill out
the grant application for the grant program.
Students and teachers who show an interest in joining the newsletter and planning
committee will be provided with a send-home sign up sheet. The newsletter committee
will be made up of 4 teachers and 6 students. The committee will meet twice a week on
Monday and Wednesday after school from 2:30-4. The students involved will be given
the task of researching different activities and looking up stats, under teacher supervision.
Two teachers and one student will be in charge of putting the newsletter all together every
other week. Teachers aids and parents will aid in this process, while also having the
responsibility of printing the letter for each class.
Grant
The Action for Healthy Kids Grant supports Americas schools in creating
healthier school environments for students, staff and the communities
they serve. The minimumgrant amount per school is $2,500. All the
information for the grant in provided at
http://www.actionforhealthykids.org. The Mesa Public Schools grants

writer will assist the school in writing the grants. The funds for the
grant will be supported by the newsletter committee (refer to Appendix
B), the bi-weekly activites (refer to Appendix A),and advertising of the
Game On program.
Advertisement
To encourage students to be engaged in the activites (refer to Appendix A), and
the weekly newsletter (Appendix B), T-shirts will be provided to Las Sendas staff. The Tshirts will have the program name, and a specific color of t-shirt depending on the gradelevel. T-shirts will also be available for student purchase to wear both days during the
monthly activity. The program will be mentioned every morning to include a daily
exercise to do at home. And lastly, student council will create poster to promote the
program with the dates of the activities
Calendar of Events
A calendar will be made to plan out each months Game On event and the
newsletter committee responsibilities. The calendar will include dates, times, the name
of the activity and the school coordinators responsible for creating the activity. The
calendar will be put in each teachers mailbox and will also be hung in the front office.
Participation
Finally, the Game On program proposal includes all students, parents, staff, and
PTO. The school staff will be required to show artifacts from the implementation of the
activity and promote the event. The staff will again wear their program t-shirts, and the
student council will provide program posters. Parents and students will be able to give
and record their take-home activites, and in school b-weekly activites. The school
administration and the PTO will monitor the newsletter.

School Grants for Healthy Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved March 24, 2016,
from http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/tools-for-schools/apply-forgrants