May 18, 2006
Governor Announces 77 schools recipients of HealthySchool Award
Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced today that 77 Kansas schools, 75 of them part of seven school districts, have been selected to receive the Governor’s ‘HealthySchool’ Award because of their efforts to help students make common sense choices to get healthy and stay healthy.
Governor Sebelius said, “These schools have shown great leadership in teaching our young people about changing behaviors that will have a profound effect on their health for a lifetime. Whether it’s increasing physical activity each week, eating a more nutritious diet or learning about the dangers of tobacco, changing these types of behaviors, result in a much healthier Kansas.”
The districts and individual schools being recognized are:
| USD 345 | Seaman School District, Topeka | Friday, May 19 | 9:30 a.m. |
| USD 453 | Anthony Elementary School, Leavenworth | Friday, May 19 | 2:30 p.m. |
| USD 265 | Goddard School District, Goddard | Monday, May 22 | 10 a.m. |
| USD 259 | Pleasant Valley Elementary, Wichita | Monday, May 22 | 2 p.m. |
| USD 484 | Fredonia School District, Fredonia | Tues., May 23 | 10 a.m. |
| USD 282 | West Elk School District, Howard | Tues., May 23 | 1:30 p.m. |
| USD 214 | Ulysses School District, Ulysses | Wed., May 24 | 10 a.m. |
| USD 457 | Garden City School District, Garden City | Wed., May 24 | 2 p.m. |
| USD 497 | Lawrence School District, Lawrence | Fri., May 26 | 3 p.m. |
Roderick Bremby, Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), will serve as the Governor’s ambassador to make the presentation to each district or school. Each recipient will receive a Certificate of Recognition and a 3 x 5 foot nylon flag bearing the HealthyKansas designation as a HealthySchool. Also, a limited number of HealthyKansas T-Shirts will be given to school personnel.
“In partnership with our Kansas Coordinated School Health Program, we’re very excited about making these presentations. These schools have shown great leadership and initiative by building health education and lifelong physical activity into their school culture,” Bremby said.
Governor Sebelius launched the HealthyKansas initiative in November 2004 as a comprehensive program of working to control health care costs, creating improved health care delivery systems to Kansans and bringing awareness to the dangers of obesity in children and adults by encouraging them to ‘change something’ in their lifestyles.
HealthyKansas ‘Change Something’ is about encouraging children in schools, adults in the workplace and seniors in their community to make simple, but powerful lifestyle changes focusing on:
Increasing physical activity to 30 minutes daily five to six times each week
Eating healthy, including five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily
Eliminating or significantly reducing tobacco use
KDHE was directed by Governor Sebelius to help show Kansans ways to ‘change something’ in their lifestyle that will improve their health.
For more information on how to become a HealthySchool, complete an on-line pledge card or learn more about how you can ‘change something,’ log onto – www.healthykansas.org.
