November 22, 2013 at 9:00 AM - Warrior Wellness Committee

Discussion:  Meeting Minutes Present: Pat Knutson,Marlene Hartman,Nancy Johannes, Sue Steffenmeier, Jayne, Hlvac, Bonnie Zrust, Laurie Novacek, Carol Reha Report from Wellness Conference per Elizabeth James: *The conference was absolutely wonderful! The focus of our time together was on the importance of sleep. While sleep has been previously emphasized in the past EHA challenges, some very interesting statistics were presented. I was very surprised to find out how much a lack of sleep can impair your cognitive function. A presentation on sleep deprivation indicated that lack of sleep can create similar symptoms to intoxication. I thought that the statistics and visuals were very powerful. I think that the information on sleep could be presented to our staff in either a five-minute presentation at a staff meeting or a five minute presentation to the entire staff on Friday, December 6th (though I am not sure of the agenda for this day). Further discussion at the conference discussed how to involve the administration in promoting healthy choices and the EHA programs. The members at the meeting believed that a meeting between a Wellness Committee Representative and an administrator would be a great start. At the elementary school, I plan to ask Mrs. Vrba to include the EHA announcement and signups on the “daily buzz.” I also believe that some healthy competition either between the schools and/or grade levels/departments may encourage participation in EHA programming. I would like to discuss this possibility with the wellness committee members (and then our administration IF we think it would be of a positive benefit—I realize that they are already SUPER BUSY!! ). PHA will be held From Dec2-20, the deadline is 6:00 pm on the 20th. Employees may use their lab results from Dec 6 in their PHA> **An email will come to all employees to encourage participation. ***Health screening sign up for Dec 6th is going well with 79 employees now enrolled for either lab an/or full screening. These are some other thought that were brought up during the meeting: 1) Encourage healthy competition between either the school buildings (percentage of staff participation) or by grade level or department (by percentage of staff participation). The competition could be either for the participation in the personal health assessment and/or a monthly EHA program. An incentive should be offered for the building/department with the highest percentage of participation. ** We did not make a decision on this. 2) The elementary school did not have a ‘salad day’ in October. I would like to see us promote healthy snacks at conferences for December 5th, and in the future. 3) I had great success encouraging SCS staff members to attend new classes at the Columbus YMCA. After emailing about the free classes, I gave out many guest passes and accompanied them as they attended new classes. Many members enjoyed the free classes so much that they purchased a punch card to attend classes or purchased a gym membership. If it is okay with the committee, I will keep emailing free offers from local fitness establishments (I am still trying to get in touch with anytime fitness in Schuyler—unless a Schuyler resident would like to take on this responsibility, as I have never been there). ** Pat Knutson will contact anytime fitness, and Elizabeth will continue to send out YMCA information. 4) Question: Is the job of the wellness committee to promote a healthy lifestyle for the just the staff or for the students as well? Should we be considering programming that encourages healthy habits for our students? ** AT SMS there was a suggestion to use a free app that offers 5 min exercise at your desk, chair etc for the kids at the end of a class. Next meeting: Jan. 31, 2014 at 3:00 pm