Physical Activity During the School Day
When students get physical activity during the school day it improves their health - but that’s not all! Physical activity during the school day also leads to better attention, behavior, motivation, and engagement in the learning process - which means better grades and test scores. And we aren’t talking big chunks of time out jogging or doing sit ups. Physical activity can happen in the classroom or in the halls of a school, through short activity breaks or even during actual lessons. Help ensure YOUR student has access to these health AND learning boosts, get involved below!
Active Classrooms & Schools
Syracuse City Schools is already working to bring great programs into schools that help students get more minutes of physical activity each day. Programs like “Math and Movement,” or “Literacy and Movement,” combine exercise and stretching movements while practicing math and reading skills. Indoor walking trails are also being set up at schools to encourage more movement throughout the day. To make sure your voice is part the conversation around physical activity at your students school, click the button below!
The district Family Engagement staff or the parent organization at your school can help make sure your thoughts and opinions are included in the plans and programs that can add more physical activity opportunities to your student’s school day. Fill out the short form below, and they will contact you directly to get things moving!
Check out the video below to learn how physical activity fits into school wellness, and why it matters.
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Physical Activity in School
We know you’ve heard it plenty times before - physical activity makes youth healthier and helps prevent diseases like diabetes and heart disease. But did you know that increases in student physical activity throughout the day ALSO improves attention, productivity, overall student academic success, and even helps the development of social and emotional skills that students need to be successful throughout life?
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Syracuse City Schools District is doing some amazing work to boost opportunities for students to be active throughout the school day and create better overall learning environments for their students. Exciting programs are already happening within the district, but they need YOUR support to make sure these programs continue to reach more students at more schools! Here a few examples of programs that could be in your student’s school when you support the work:
Math/Literacy and Movement. These programs include exercise during math and reading class. Teachers lead students in physical exercise, stretching, and yoga movements while the practice math and reading skills. These programs help students get important minutes of physical activity and have shown positive impact in learning across all grades!
Indoor Walking Trails. Spaces outside the classroom can also be designed to increase activity such as Indoor Walking Trails.These walking trails provide fun and easy ways for students to walk before, after, and during recess. They are designed for all fitness levels, including students with physical limitations. The trails include encouraging messages along a one mile trail. The district is planning to install more of these trails in more schools.
It’s important that when parents and caregivers encourage more of these programs to done in their schools, that they don’t take the place of other key types of physical activity at school, like recess and physical education (PE). PE is where students learn skills and knowledge for physical activity and fitness, and more PE has been linked to better grades, test scores, and classroom behavior. Recess, whether as organized activities or as completely free time to play, gets students moving, improves learning, and builds social and emotional skills that help students long into their future. To make sure youth get these benefits and that schools are reinforcing healthy behaviors, it’s important that our schools don’t use taking away recess as a way to discipline students. Instead, we can use recess as a reward or prize, like providing more or extra recess time for good behavior, performance, attendance.
Math/Literacy and Movement. These programs include exercise during math and reading class. Teachers lead students in physical exercise, stretching, and yoga movements while the practice math and reading skills. These programs help students get important minutes of physical activity and have shown positive impact in learning across all grades!
Indoor Walking Trails. Spaces outside the classroom can also be designed to increase activity such as Indoor Walking Trails.These walking trails provide fun and easy ways for students to walk before, after, and during recess. They are designed for all fitness levels, including students with physical limitations. The trails include encouraging messages along a one mile trail. The district is planning to install more of these trails in more schools.
It’s important that when parents and caregivers encourage more of these programs to done in their schools, that they don’t take the place of other key types of physical activity at school, like recess and physical education (PE). PE is where students learn skills and knowledge for physical activity and fitness, and more PE has been linked to better grades, test scores, and classroom behavior. Recess, whether as organized activities or as completely free time to play, gets students moving, improves learning, and builds social and emotional skills that help students long into their future. To make sure youth get these benefits and that schools are reinforcing healthy behaviors, it’s important that our schools don’t use taking away recess as a way to discipline students. Instead, we can use recess as a reward or prize, like providing more or extra recess time for good behavior, performance, attendance.
You must be noticing a pattern here… physical activity matters, not just for health but for an overall better school environment for our students to learn and thrive. Spread the word by sharing the video below (who doesn’t love puppets!?), and head back up to the section above to take action!
A Piece of the School Wellness Puzzle
The work on physical activity in the classroom and during the school that is being done at your schools is just one important piece of a much part of a larger picture of “School Wellness.”
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School wellness efforts are aimed at creating the healthiest school environment possible for our youth. Schools provide a place for students to not only learn what’s in their books and on the whiteboard, but to develop healthy habits, like healthy eating and being physically active. And guess what? The students who eat well and stay active, also perform better in school, showing higher grades and test scores.
All school districts already have written standards in place to make sure they provide your students with the healthiest school environment possible - typically referred to as a School Wellness Policy. But they need parents and families like you to make sure those standards are up to par, and that they are actually implemented at your individual schools!
All school districts already have written standards in place to make sure they provide your students with the healthiest school environment possible - typically referred to as a School Wellness Policy. But they need parents and families like you to make sure those standards are up to par, and that they are actually implemented at your individual schools!
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