Beginning Friday January 16th, I would like to start a Payday Friday Wellness Clinic to any interested Maple Crest staff member. If you have resolved to lose weight, exercise more, eat healthier, or monitor your blood pressure in 2009, I would like to open the clinic on Payday Friday’s to assist you. Depending on the number of participants, I may open the clinic early on these days. This is not a competition among staff, but I do hope to have a prize drawing for staff members that participate in 9 out of 10 clinics. I will have a sign up sheet in my office. Please sign up by Wednesday January 14^th if you plan to participate. Please call me at ext. 302 for questions or suggestions.   Wishing you a Healthy New Year, Ellen

Maple Crest Elementary & Middle School students are participating in a running club again this year.  Students begin this program with a 3 minute run and add a minute each week. The goal for our students in first and second grade is to run continuously without stopping to ten minutes. The goal for our students in third, fourth, & fifth is to reach twelve minutes. Each time they complete a run, they receive a colorful foot token as recognition of their accomplishment. Once they reach their ten & twelve minute accomplishments, they will receive a runner token & a trophy!  These trophies have been donated by the Kokomo Club Runners members.  Our students are so excited to run and get healthy! 

Vicki Boles, Shawn Flanary, Sean Swan 

Darrough Chapel has several opportunities for students to participate in wellness activities.  The students really enjoy seeing staff members join them or even compete with them.  We have created different walking "courses" to encourage students to exercise.  Students earn "feet" as they walk miles; they earn numbers as they walk more miles (this is easier shown than explained, so come over and we will explain and show you). 

 Staff members also have a large chart on the wall that resembles a track.  Each staff member has a laminated picture of themselves in a "walking" pose.  As they walk miles, they move their picture around the track.  Students enjoy seeing their teacher move around the track, and even walk with their teacher to help him/her move.

We also asked our PE teacher to come up with some short, energizing activities a teacher could easily use within the classroom.  Since our PE teacher is Steve Eby, we call the activities "Eby's Energizers".  We have them on our Darrough Chapel link.