The Sunnyvale School District partners closely with all facets of the community — including nonprofit organizations, local universities, nearby businesses, community organizations, and parents — to enrich our students’ learning opportunities.
We are extremely grateful to them and to our entire community of supporters for helping enrich our classroom curricula and instruction with creative, quality programs in music, art, hands-on science, social-emotional growth, and physical education and wellness.
The programs listed below are in our schools providing Health and Wellness education to the students and parents in our Sunnyvale community. The SRTS, 5210, GoNoodle and the Sunnyvale Wrestling program would love to have parent volunteers. If you are interested in supporting these programs, please contact Pam Murdock, Health/Wellness Programs Liaison for more information at 408-522-8200 ext. 1048 or pam.murdock@sesd.org.
5210 Program
(5 Fruits and vegetables per day, 2 hours or less a day of screen time, 1 hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day and 0 Soda and sugar-sweetened sports and fruit drinks.)
In 2010, Palo Alto Medical Foundation and El Camino Hospital came together and designed the numbers 5210 to live by. Since 2010, Nutrition Educators from Palo Alto Medical Foundation and El Camino Hospital have provided student and parent nutrition education to all elementary schools in the Sunnyvale School District. The 5210 program is intended to reach grades K-5 and the parent community and be incorporated into after school programs.
Safe Routes to School Program
The Sunnyvale School District has been a part of the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program for 6 years. SRTS promotes walking and bicycling in a safe and healthy environment through safety education and encouragement activities with the support of law enforcement and traffic engineering. The benefits of the SRTS program include: increased physical activity, improved traffic safety, social connections and greater student academic achievement.
BAWSI Program (Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative)
In 2013, the Bay Area Women’s Initiative (BAWSI) joined the Sunnyvale School District supporting our title 1 schools, serving girls only in grades 2nd-5th grade. The Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI, pronounced “bossy”) is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes the women’s sports community to engage, inspire and empower the children who need us most. BAWSI was founded by Olympic and World Cup soccer stars Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy, and Marlene Bjornsurd, former general manager of the San Jose Cyber Rays women’s professional soccer team.
The BAWSI program selects two schools for the program every year through an application process.
BAWSI Rollers Program
The BAWSI Rollers program provides fun, adaptive physical activities for girls and boys with physical, cognitive and hearing disabilities.
Through a fun and active curriculum that includes games such as basketball, soccer, and sharks and minnows, the BAWSI Rollers program helps participants develop hand-eye coordination, strength, confidence and a sense of independence.
Weekly sessions include activities focused on goal setting, teamwork, and healthy competition, as well as spirited conversations about self-respect, responsibility, and leadership.
GoNoodle Program
The Sunnyvale School District has been a part of the GoNoodle program for 5 years. Go Noodle is a library of games that are designed to re-engage students across a variety of situations. Giving brains a release, after rigorous lessons, can ready students to learn again. GoNoodle provides interactive core-aligned breaks that integrate bursts of energy in the classroom.
There are many GoNoodle games teachers may use in their classrooms with the students standing by their desk: “Run With Us”, “Airtime”, “Maximo”, “BodySpell”, “Mega Math Marathon” and “Word Jam” Each brain break activity is approximately 3-mins long.
Sunnyvale Youth Wrestling League
The Sunnyvale School District is starting its second season with the Sunnyvale Youth Wrestling League (SYWL) program, serving boys and girls grades 3-5. The program is serving 5 schools (Bishop, Ellis, San Miguel, Lakewood, and Vargas). The program will promote physical literacy mastering of fundamental movement skills and fundamental sport skills that permit a child to read their environment and make appropriate decisions, allowing them to move confidently and with control in a wide range of physical activity situations. SYWL is a partnership between the District and the Sunnyvale Wrestling Club.
Kaiser School Permanente Educational Theater Programs
For 30 years, Kaiser Permanente Educational Theatre has inspired children, teens, and adults to make better decisions and lead healthier lives by offering free live theater programs to schools and communities. The live theater performances feature contemporary music, humor, dance, and dialogue loaded with age-appropriate health information. The youthful performer/educators reflect the communities’ diversity. Their realistic portrayals of young people’s lives will pull audience members into the performance and have them wanting to make healthy choices, too. The performer/educators are trained extensively in health issues and peer counseling. Performances and programs are created and updated by medical professionals, educators, parents, and theater professionals.
The Sunnyvale School District has three schools this school year receiving the Kaiser Permanente Theater programs:
“Best Me” Assembly-Nutrition and Physical Activity
• Bishop: November 7, 2016
• San Miguel: February 13, 2017
Peace Signs Assembly and Workshops-Anti Bullying and Prevention
• Vargas: September 9, 2016
Article by Pam Murdock, Health/Wellness Programs Liaison
