Tag: Health Corps

  • Wellness Week 2015

    Wellness Week 2015

    his year, Poly is hosting the second annual Wellness Week from Feb. 23 to 27. These few days help promote awareness for the physical, mental and emotional support of students on and off campus. All students are invited to participate in rallies each day during lunch. Music, performances and fun games are offered. Free workshops are also available to anyone interested; these take place in the Cafeteria Teachers’ Lounge after school. The week concludes with a Health Fair held during lunch on Friday, at which more than twenty clubs will offer free services and prizes to passerby.

    Girls Basketball Head Coach Carl Buggs leads a Zumba session of Poly students during Wednesday at lunch.
    Crispin Jay Salapare
    Girls Basketball Head Coach Carl Buggs leads a Zumba session of Poly students during Wednesday at lunch.

    “We really wanted to do Wellness Week to be able to educate students on campus about their well-being,” said KGA advisor Ashley Uyeda.

    Wellness Week began when Khmer Girls in Action collaborated with the on-campus nonprofit HealthCorps last year. The events were met with a positive reaction from the school, so this year’s Wellness Week is being executed on a much larger scale. KGA began campaigning last year for a school-based health clinic, eventually getting the approval to establish a wellness clinic at the future Roosevelt Elementary school across the street. It was through a school-wide effort that the KGA, HealthCorps and the MAPS Academy were able to make this week happen.

    The special collaboration between these three groups has provided Poly and its students with much-needed support during times of crisis.

    “Wellness Week is there to provide students with resources on campus to help them live better lives. Well-being is important because kids are in a transitional period, where a lot of support is needed at that time,” said HealthCorps coordinator Evelyn Rwema.

    In addition to Wellness Week, the Care Center and Peer Counseling are services provided for students who need mental and emotional help. All in all, Wellness Week is a very effective way of engaging students to learn more about the opportunities available to them on campus. If there are any health initiatives students want to plan in the future, feel free to reach out to Evelyn Rwema in Room 520.

  • HealthCorps Seeks To Make Poly Fit

    HealthCorps, a new nutrition program, has started at Poly this year. The program arrived via a grant won by the MAPS (Medical and Paramedical Services) Academy.

    The program was founded by heart surgeon and two-time Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife Lisa in response to the childhood obesity crisis currently occurring in the United States. It is also geared toward empowering Poly students to lead healthier and better lives.

    HealthCorps is managed by Evelyn Rwema, organization coordinator, who will be working with Poly students for two years. As a coordinator, she will teach classroom lessons about fitness and healthy choices and hold lunch demonstrations showing new and healthy food.

    “We plan to have many nutrition based activities, including clubs, afterschool programs, and a cooking competition in the spring between the students,” said Rwema.  “All of the activities are centered around nutrition, fitness, and mental resilience.”

    The program aims to increase awareness of childhood obesity and good nutrition in students so that they will inspire others to take charge of their own well-being. A club Rwema plans to start, Poly Fit, will introduce students to different ways of healthy living, explained through cooking, meditation, and exercise. For the faculty and staff, she aims to have staff wellness competitions and exercise sessions.

    “We would love to get students more involved with their overall health and wellness. With the grant, there will be many opportunities for students to not only become better educated about their health but also to have hands on experiences towards healthier living overall,” said AVID teacher Danielle Sawyer.

    Specific activities will provide opportunities for students to volunteer, including the Health Fair, a fair that will be held at the end of first semester. Rwema aims to have the fair be completely student run, with booths such as yoga, picking out healthy food choices, and so forth.

    During second semester, Rwema explained that a goal of hers is to expand the cafeteria menu or to have healthy food alternative choices. For now, her priority is making sure that students and staff alike know about HealthCorps and its goals.