Extra Credit

Donation will fund four billboards to publicize Fort Worth schools May 11 walk

Four billboards touting the Fort Worth school district's District Walk are going up next month.

The school district on Monday was given a $15,000 donation to help pay for and publicize the annual walk, scheduled for May 11. Participants will meet at athletic tracks at Fort Worth ISD high schools and walk. The event is 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Humana Foundation's donation will pay to buy water, water bottles, t-shirts and other expenses. It will also cover the costs of four billboards.

Starting on April 14, the billboards will be located at:

• Beach Street and Elinor Street (south facing)
• Berry Street and Mississippi Avenue (east facing)
• North and Pharr Street (north facing)
• Vickery Boulevard and Lovell Avenue (east facing)

Jessamy Brown

 

No flu shots, but other immunizations at HEB schools event this week

The folks at Hurst-Euless-Bedford schools say they are NOT hosting flu immunization events this week. They issued this clarification on their Facebook page:

"There will NOT be any flu shot clinic at any HEB ISD facility this week.

"Some local media outlets have reported that there will be a flu shot clinic at the Pat May Center on Thursday, January 17th. This is incorrect; there will be NO flu shots.

"There will be an event where uninsured children (and some other children) under nineteen years old can receive school immunization shots.

If you would like more information about flu shots, please contact your physician or the public health department.

"If you have questions about school immunizations or this Thursday's event, please contact your school's nurse."

Jessamy Brown

Environmental club at Poly High School launches community garden

Students in an environmental club at Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth are opening a community garden on Wednesday.

Here are some Fort Worth school district photos of preparation of the garden.

"With a culinary arts program at Poly, the work of the Environmental Club allows our students to utilize fresh vegetables, grown at Poly High School in their culinary creations," Fort Worth schools trustee Tobi Jackson said in a posting on the district's website. "That's a lesson of teamwork, healthful eating, and community that students can take with them for life."

The club is hosting a ribbon cutting at noon on Dec. 12, 2012 at the school, 1300 Conner Ave., Fort Worth

Jessamy Brown

Sagamore Hill Elementary gets $1,000 for gym equipment after winning FitWorth Kids contest

Sagamore Hill Elementary School has won $1,000 for new physical education equipment after coming in first place in the FitWorthKids Challenge. 

Teams of students in grades 3 through 8 who attend 81 Fort Worth school district campuses participated in an eight-week contest. They worked with physical education teachers to keep track how much exercise they did and the number of servings of water, fruit and vegetables.

At Sagamore Hill Elementary, in southeast Fort Worth, students reported that its 278 students completed 1,430,268 minutes of physical activity. In second place was J.P. Elder Middle School, which won $750 and Western Hills Elementary, which won $500.

Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price told students the news at a Tuesday assembly.

Here are the other top schools:

• Contreras Elementary School
• Como Elementary School
• Daggett Montessori School
• Hubbard Heights Elementary School
• Springdale Elementary School
• Tanglewood Elementary School
• W.M. Green Elementary School

Jessamy Brown

 

Pro cyclists teach lesson on health to students in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH -- Schoolchildren competing in an eight-week program to eat better and exercise more gave their four-week progress report to a trio of super fit athletes on Thursday.

Fifth-graders at M.L. Phillips Elementary School told the racing cyclists on the RadioShack Nissan Trek Team that they are eating more fruits and vegetables and have added two hours a week to their physical activity. 
The cyclists, who train up to 30 hours a week on their bikes, encouraged the children to continue to eat nutritious food, get a bit of exercise and always wear a helmet when bicycling. Photo gallery here.

"You don't have to eat little carrots like Bugs Bunny. Replace a piece of chocolate with an orange or a banana. It has more vitamins," said cyclist Jens Voigt, 41, of Berlin, who was on the nine-man team that raced in the Tour de France this summer. "Eating healthy makes you smarter and stronger. "

The visit by Voigt, Markel Irizar and Tiago Machado was part of the citywide Fit Worth campaign aimed at encouraging residents to improve their health through increased physical activity and healthy eating.

Read more here from today's Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

And here are some more facts about Jens Voigt: He has six kids and often spends free time maintaining their bikes. He got started into cycling at age 10 and won his first race. He likes fishing and recently bought a bow.

Asked if he'd ever met Lance Armstrong, Voigt told a student that the two men's birthdays are a day apart and they'd raced in the Tour de France together.

Here's another video that shows the pro athletes playing a noisy physical education game together.  

Jessamy Brown

Fort Worth schools employees can get flu shots starting Sept. 24

Employees of Fort Worth ISD can get flu shots at several different campuses starting on Sept. 24 and the vaccinations are free to those on the TRS-ActiveCare statewide health coverage program for public education employees.

The flu clinic will run through Nov. 14. Employees can get their vaccinations at any of the locations.

The flu shots cost $16 or cost $32 for the flu mist. Bring cash or a check made to North Texas Flu Shots. There's no charge for flu shots for employees who have insurance through TRS-ActiveCare or Blue Cross Blue Shield. Those employees must bring a photo copy of their insurance card and a copy of their driver's license.

Employees can start registering online for the shots on Thursday, Sept. 20.

Here's the list of locations:

Jessamy Brown

 

Fort Worth schools student performs Heimlich on choking classmate

Fort Worth schools trustees on Wednesday honored a South Hills High School student who saved the life of a classmate when she used the Heimlich maneuver on the choking young man.

Oscar Gonzalez was in theater arts class and chewing on a bottle cap when he accidentally inhaled it. The teacher tried to perform the Heimlich maneuver but had difficulty because she is pregnant.

Student Abi Korona had learned the move in health class and acted quickly. The Heimlich maneuver is an emergency technique for clearing someone's airway if it is blocked.

Oscar said to the audience: "Anyone can do this." 

To Abi, he said: "Thank you."

Jessamy Brown

Free back to school health screenings at Sam's Club stores on Saturday

Children can get free health screenings on Saturday to prepare for back to school.

The screenings are scheduled for Saturday, August 11 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at all Sam's Club locations nationwide with a pharmacy.

Services provided include: vision screenings, body mass index and blood pressure tests, take home dental care kits in English and Spanish and take home DNA and fingerprint kits.

The next free health screening is Sept. 8 and will focus on diabetes management.

Jessamy Brown

 

Families turn out for annual Fort Worth school district walk

Despite cloudy skies, many made it out to this weekend's seventh annual Fort Worth ISD District Walk, which was held at each of the 13 traditional high schools.

 

Officials hope to encourage families and the community to adopt healthy habits and get more active. Prizes were given to schools and student groups with the most participants.

 

Here are some pics from the event. Top right is a picture from O.D. Wyatt High's walk. At left are participants from W.J. Turner Elementary School, which had the most participants at North Side High's walk. Below is a scene from Carter-Riverside High.

-Eva-Marie Ayala

Photos courtesy of the Fort Worth school district

Educators group to host parent workshops on Saturday

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) is hosting a day of workshops for area parents as part of the group's 38th annual conference.

One workshop at the Parent Day Summit will cover what's new in special education and how to understand and monitor your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). Other workshops will cover topics such as parents' rights under No Child Left Behind, how to be engaged at school, Texas academic standards and student and family health issues.

Keynote speaker is Zollie Stevenson Jr., former director of student achievement and school accountability programs at the U.S. Department of Education, responsible for Title I and Title III programs. He is now an associate professor of educational leadership at Bowie State University in Maryland.

About 350 people are pre-registered for the event, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Onsite registration begins at 8 a.m. Cost is $90 (includes lunch). The Summit was organized by NABSE board member Anthony White Sr., a retired administrator for Newark public schools who is now chief executive officer of Parental Involvement Exchange.

Jessamy Brown