Story and Photos By Crystal Hayduk
Friday, May 13 turned out to be a very lucky day for elementary students in the Chelsea School District.
About 1,000 children in kindergarten through fifth grade gathered on the soccer field of South Meadows Elementary School on a mostly sunny, 64-degree afternoon for the Wacky Olympics event, which officially ended the sixth annual fruit and veggie challenge.
North Creek Principal Marcus Kaemming said that the challenge was held later this year (April 18 – May 13) so that the final event could be held outdoors instead of in the South Meadows gymnasium, as in years past.
“We’re hoping that if the outdoor venue works well, North Creek can host it in alternate years,” he said.
According to first grade teacher Jennifer Tracht at North Creek Elementary School, students at each elementary school were challenged to eat at least 12,000 servings of fruit and vegetables during the school day in an effort to reach the general goal of becoming healthier.
“This is a huge motivation for the kids, and as a teacher, it is awesome to watch them bring and eat so many fresh fruits and vegetables,” she said. “They are excited and proud to show what they brought to eat.”
Students in Tracht’s class enjoyed the challenge and understood the benefits of increasing their fruit and vegetable consumption. First grader Zora liked that school was encouraging kids to eat healthier. “I like doing it and eating healthier myself,” she said.
Lydia, another student, said, “I like that you get healthy and you can eat some of your favorite fruits and vegetables.”
Fourth-grade teacher Brandon Schmidt at South Meadows Elementary School, who is in his first year teaching in the Chelsea School District, said that he has seen an increase to nearly all of his students bringing healthy snacks to school.
“It has got them excited about making healthy choices throughout their day,” he said. “It has also helped students to try new foods. As they see their friends eating something, then they want to try it, too.”
Fourth grader Kyah noticed an improvement in how she felt during the challenge. “I love that it really helps kids eat better,” she said. “It really made me feel better because of all the fruit and vegetables that I’ve been eating.”
First grader Lewis summed up the children’s feelings about the final event when he said that he was excited to travel to South Meadows to watch the teachers engage in Wacky Olympics.
This year’s games, which were emceed by Beach Middle School Principal Nick Angel, included the Hula Hoop Pass, Frisbee Relay, Fruit Basket Catch, Balloon Toss, and Tug of War. Students from each school sat together on opposite sides of the soccer field so they could more easily see their own teachers participate in the games.
First grade teacher Eric Robinson and fifth grade teacher Jordan Miller stirred up the crowd with their endless energy.
One of the most humorous moments of the event was when Kaemming, dressed as a bunch of grapes, and South’s principal, Stacie Battaglia, dressed as a tomato, raced to see who could finish eating a serving of whipped cream-covered grapes first.
Angel remarked, “Grapes eating grapes – it’s a little bit weird.”
By a close margin, Battaglia won the Grape Eating Challenge for South Meadows. And, South Meadows was pronounced the winner of the Wacky Olympics.
But, North Creek students jumped to their feet, cheering in victory when Angel announced that they had eaten 14,436 fruit and veggie servings, beating out their South Meadows friends, who ate 9,906 servings.
Angel reminded the students that in the game of health, they were all winners, and to give themselves a round of applause.
Tracht thanked families for their assistance with the challenge. “As a teacher, I’m appreciative of the support from parents to encourage the children to bring in fresh fruit and vegetables,” she said. “I know it is more expensive and takes more time to do this when compared to sending in a bag of Goldfish crackers. However, instilling the importance of eating healthy foods is so critical.”
Information for parents
Remember that the Chelsea Farmers Markets are now open for the season. The Bushel Basket Farmers Market runs on Wednesdays from 2-6 p.m. and Chelsea Farmers Market is on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Both take place at the Palmer parking lot, 222 South Main St.
Tips and recipes for cooking with kids can be found at http://www.eatright.org/resources/for-kids.
Find online games and other activities for kids related to healthy eating at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/kids.
