— California, North Carolina and Texas Elementary Schools Awarded $10,000 Each to Improve Physical Activity and Healthy Living in their Communities —
— Paradise Elementary School Awarded Grand Prize and National Novo Nordisk Recognition Ceremony —
Silver Spring, Md. (Wednesday, March 20, 2019) – Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge winners in celebration of thriving, healthy and active school communities across the United States.
The Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge, designed to help elementary school teachers incorporate healthy lifestyle education into their curricula, inspired elementary school students to develop new ways to help their school’s community healthfully and holistically flourish. Challenge winners were selected by local educators, Discovery Education and Novo Nordisk across three categories, and have successfully demonstrated fundamental community health concepts in their submissions. Three Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge schools, in California, North Carolina, and Texas, today were awarded $10,000 each to implement forward-looking healthy lifestyle solutions for their communities. The Grand Prize Winner, Paradise Elementary School, will also be nationally recognized by Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education during an in-school assembly.
“The quality of opportunities and resources available in our schools, homes, and communities are foundational to establishing healthy habits and lifestyles,” says Chief Medical Officer Todd Hobbs, MD, Novo Nordisk, Inc. “Novo Nordisk is proud to congratulate students and teachers who share our commitment to creating healthy communities, and supporting ways for the next generation to lead healthy and active lives.”
Super Health, Super You resources are accessible online and within Discovery Education Streaming Plus, an award-winning comprehensive digital service supplementing instruction across all K-12 curricular areas. Discovery Education Streaming Plus empowers educators to create dynamic learning environments that mirror students’ use of technology outside the classroom.
Community Health Challenge winners are listed below:
Nutrition and Gardens Strand
Fields Store Elementary School| Waller, Texas
Grand Prize Concept: “Victory Garden”
Award: $10,000 to develop the Kids Dig’in Real Food garden club
To introduce students to a new world of nutrition and health, Fields Store Elementary School will use their prize to start a school garden club, Kids Dig’in Real Food (KDRF). Their 2019 goal is to encourage kids to eat more fruits and vegetables by providing access to fresh organic foods. KDRF will be comprised of Fields Store Elementary students, parents and faculty who will work together to accomplish their goal.
Physical Activity Winner
Tri-County Christian School| Spruce, North Carolina
Winning Concept: Soaring to Success
Award: $10,000 to develop a physical activities space for youth 12 years old and younger
Tri-County Christian School students aim to improve health and fitness in their community by creating a safe environment for young learners to access physical education, while strengthening their bodies and having fun. The student body will leverage their Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge award to build a physical activity space for youth 12 years old and younger, with the aim of establishing healthy lifelong fitness habits among youth.
Grand Prize & Title 1 Winner
Paradise Elementary School | Paradise, California
Winning Concept: Rebuilding Paradise
Award: $10,000 to rebuild the playground equipment and provide social emotional learning (SEL) curriculum after the wildfires
The Paradise Elementary School community plans to access SEL curriculum and purchase playground equipment with the goal of helping local students manage the trauma of losing their school building during a recent Camp Fire in Butte County, Calif. The Rebuilding Paradise initiative will help Paradise Elementary School students, educators and parents rebuild and refurbish their school community in a healthy, loving and positive way.
After being awarded the Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge Grand Prize, Sabine Coffee, winning educator and 4th grade teacher at Paradise Elementary School said, “this grant means so much to us here at Paradise Elementary School and will have a ripple effect throughout the entire community. It’s not just the students that will benefit from this opportunity, but parents and teachers who are also starting a new beginning.”
The Super Health, Super You program activates schools to think critically about the health and wellness of their student population. Exercises and activities present fundamental community health concepts, and the program’s online hub houses downloadable content about diabetes prevention, fitness, nutrition topics and latest news regarding the Community Challenge.
“Novo Nordisk’s leadership, through the ‘Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge’ has equipped classrooms and communities nationwide with vital tools to guide healthy life choices,” said Lori McFarling, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Discovery Education. “We applaud Novo Nordisk for championing the future of community health and congratulate this year’s challenge winners for their vision in helping increase health awareness and engagement nationwide.”
Online materials for educators and parents include:
- Lesson Plans and Activities: Six lesson plans and seven activities are available for upper elementary school students to highlight community health, including: addressing external factors contributing to health, and the relationship between food choices and diabetes.
- Digital Presentation: A student-facing presentation that walks students and teachers through planning and growing a garden. The presentation is available to classrooms.
- Family Toolkit: To extend the learnings beyond the classroom, a family toolkit comprised of three community-health based family activities and one family health discussion prompt.
Super Health, Super You resources are available at no-cost at superhealthsuperyou.com and are integrated into Discovery Education Streaming Plus. For more information about Discovery Education’s digital curriculum resources and professional learning services, visit discoveryeducation.com. Stay connected with Discovery Education through social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest @DiscoveryEd.
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About Novo Nordisk:
Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, has been committed to discovering and developing innovative medicines to help people living with diabetes lead longer, healthier lives for 95 years. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious diseases including obesity, hemophilia and growth disorders. We remain steadfast in our conviction that the formula for success is to stay focused, think long term and do business in a financially, socially and environmentally responsible way. With U.S. headquarters in New Jersey and production and research facilities in five states, Novo Nordisk employs nearly 6,000 people throughout the country. For more information, visit novonordisk.us, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About Discovery Education:
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms. Through its award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia resources, and the largest professional learning network of its kind, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning and improving academic achievement around the globe. Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms and primary schools in the U.K., and reach over 5 million educators and 51 million students in more than 90 countries. Inspired by the global media company Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to empower teachers with customized solutions that support the success of all learners. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.
Contacts:
Novo Nordisk, Inc.
Marisa Sharkey
mzsx@novonordisk.com
(609) 786-4784
Discovery Education
Charmion N. Kinder
CKinder@Discoveryed.com
(240) 274-2173