Are you reading your food labels lately? Have your children been exercising the required 60 minutes daily? Are you eating enough “green light” foods? All these questions and more will be answered during the Whole Child Wellness Week, sponsored by Redwood Shores Elementary School PTA. As part of the Belmont-Redwood Shores School District Wellness Policy and recent grant for Wellness Coordination, Thea Runyan, consultant and Mindy Shelton, Health Educator, will be teaching classes for staff, students and parents in making healthy choices for a lifetime of good health habits. The school will learn the necessary qualities of good nutrition and how it affects student achievement at school, recommendations for physical fitness and how to cooperate with others in resolving conflict. As students are more inclined to partake of fast foods and plenty of sugar in sodas, the increase of Type 2 diabetes has increased among youngsters. Consequently, the Sequoia Healthcare District has granted resources over three years to support school districts in prevention and intervention work with nutrition, physical and emotional health. The healthy choices each student makes prolongs good health when they become adults and reduces the risk of health issues later.

As students are given more information on the kinds of choices and habits to incorporate into their lifestyles, parents need to be aware of the same kinds of habits that might be helpful in their own lives.

We also want to celebrate our reaching the goal of raising the $10,000 in donations for our library. Thank you, community, for your spirit and generosity in helping us with the foundation of our book collection. Thank you, Carol Castro, for your organization and dedication in helping our school raise these funds.