2020 Schools Strategy Updates

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Mental Health Minnesota has made available a Back to School 2020 Toolkit.

Stress and anxiety can be common during the school year for students, but with the pandemic upon us, it’s even more important to pay attention. For those who are physically going back to schools, the anxiety and fear are palpable. Simply navigating the uncertainly can feel overwhelming. And for those who are learning virtually, too much isolation can be harmful. This Back To School toolkit makes available resources for parents, students, teachers, and everyone.

Go to our Wabasha County SHIP resources page for tools that may help with distance learning.


If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.

WALK! BIKE! FUN! … at home!

Welcome to the NEW Minnesota Safe Routes to School WALK! BIKE! FUN! AT HOME distance learning resources.

Included in the new resource are WALK! FUN! and BIKE! FUN! activities from the WALK! BIKE! FUN! curriculum. These activities are now available for learning at home, typically taught in physical education classes or in school youth programs.

Lessons include both worksheets and outdoor walking and biking activities. Each activity has options of how a student may complete it, depending on the equipment and technology available to them. 

Visit WALK! BIKE! FUN! AT HOME to find all of the new online learning resources:

  • Downloadable guides for teachers and educators

  • Downloadable guides for students  

  • A packet of fun activities for kids to do alone - and with parents or caretakers - to practice safe biking and walking skills

If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.

Cleaning, Sanitizing, Disinfection: Infectious Diseases in Childcare Settings and Schools Manual from the Minnesota Department of Health

Go to our resources page for tools that may help with distance learning.

A sample what you’ll find there:

Bike to Anywhere Day 2020

While we won’t be able to get together in person for large-scale events like ‘Bike to School Day’ this spring, we hope individual students and families will get outside on a walk or bike ride when possible. To that end, we are rolling out an alternative to national Bike to School Day on Wednesday, May 6 We’re now calling it Bike to Anywhere Day!

That’s right, this year we want YOU to choose your own adventure to celebrate biking and fill in that blank! We encourage you to participate in as many elements of this promotional activity as you are able and share your results with us by posting on our Facebook page using  “#MNbikeday”. You can also send us a note at saferoutes.dot@state.mn.us. 

To our school heroes teaching P.E. and other subjects—you can add these activities and resources to your distance learning curriculum! We understand the mixed messaging of screen time and physical activity, so assign time to bike or walk or learn traffic safety by exploring their neighborhoods built environment. Use the mileage tracker, bike bingo card, crossword, word search, poster coloring contest, or Walk! Bike! Fun! distance learning materials for your health and physical education classes to promote this lifelong activity.

To our parents – get your kids outside and use the mileage tracker, bike bingo card or scavenger hunt to keep kids focused and motivated. And when those pesky ‘April showers’ keep you inside, consider the word search, crossword or poster coloring contest.

SAIL PROGRAM

Students Achieve Integrative Learning (SAIL) program reports great benefits in partnering with Wabasha County SHIP.

The SAIL program in Kellogg, MN is a Level IV Behavior program. Students come to the program from several different districts in the area. The students in the SAIL program come to with a wide range of needs. During the 2018-2019 school year SAIL was awarded its first SHIP grant and purchased a Bottle Filling Station. This has helped both students and staff to increase their water intake and decrease sugary liquids. It has been fun watching the students come to the station multiple times a day to refill their water bottles.

During the 2019 -2020 school year we worked with SHIP on the Active Recess strategy. We also worked with Annette Shepardson, SNAP-Educator who worked with youth on classes which engaged them in cooking.  The teachers were then trained to continue the classes which the SAIL named  “Tasty Tuesdays.” The students looked forward to her sessions. One student was very upset when his mom kept him home for being sick. He said “I can’t miss Tasty Tuesdays!!” The students cooked a holiday meal for the staff and students. Each classroom chose what they wanted to cook. One classroom picked the Pineapple Carrot salad they learned in Tasty Tuesdays.

Active Recess has been a hit with the SAIL students. They now prefer the organized games over the free play that we used to do. The organized games and activities provide the students with the structure they need. The SAIL staff feels better prepared to provide students with the needed movement and exercise. Social skill lessons are easily embedded in the activities, something all of our students need.

SAIL’s focus this year is healthy living habits including snacks, sensory needs, and exercise. With the SHIP grant they purchased equipment to implement games for the active recess. They started a healthy snack cart for the students and staff and were able to purchase a “Crazy Maze” which will be installed on the hallway floor to provide students with sensory activities as they enter the school or during the day when they need sensory activities. Three staff attend the BikeMN Walk! Bike! Fun! training and we’re planning on doing the training with the students and utilizing the bikes to practice safe biking habits.

“We have taken on a lot with the SHIP grant, but our staff has embraced the challenge because we know it is for our benefit, and especially the students’ benefit.”

-Amy York, Director of Special Education

If you’d like to learn more about partnering with Wabasha County SHIP, email Tina Moen, SHIP Coordinator or call 651-565-5200.

Farm to School Workshop to be held February 18 at Bluff View Elementary in Lake City, 4:00-8:00 pm.

This event is designed to build connections and momentum for growing Farm to School in Wabasha County.

Lunch is an important part of the school day, and school nutrition professionals work hard to serve up healthy food every day. Schools around the state are finding ways to work together with farmers to bring locally-grown food into school cafeterias – raising the bar on fresh and tasty meals, while supporting the local farm economy. And it’s not just schools – hospitals, senior centers, preschools, and restaurants are also incorporating local, farm-raised products into their menus.

 

This free workshop is open to local farmers, food service staff, school staff, daycare providers, parents, businesses and institutions who want to learn about purchasing local foods are invited to attend. Register here

 

The FREE WORKSHOP which has been planned with input from Lake City schools and Wabasha-Kellogg schools, will explore how schools and farmers can work together to get locally-grown foods into the lunch room. Doing so has multiple benefits, including teaching kids about nutrition and where their food comes from. And while it sounds like a marriage made in heaven, the realities of making farm to cafeteria work are challenging. That’s why, in addition to panel discussions that include food service directors, farmers, and other experts, the workshop will provide practical information for navigating the ins and outs of farm to cafeteria and an opportunity for farmers and buyers to get to know each other.

The workshop is being coordinated by a local planning team that includes school administrators, food service professionals, farmers, public health staff, farmers market staff, and other community leaders who are working in conjunction with Renewing the Countryside, Wabasha County Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP), the Minnesota Farmers Market Association, and the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture.

The workshop is made possible with support from a USDA Farm to School grant, the Minnesota Department of Health, and Compeer Financial. Similar workshops are taking place across the state in Aitkin, Grand Rapids, Chisago City, Cannon Falls, Wabasha/Lake City, and Rochester.

Email Sara George or call her at 715-651-5046 for information about the event in Lake City. For more information on the Farm to School events statewide, email Grace Brogan or call her at 612-520-1675.