W-F teams host wellness event

By Angie Landsverk

Weyauwega-Fremont School District families spent a few hours exercising together during the first ever Wellness Night.

“We thought we’d bring it to the families,” Kristen Hanten said.

Hanten is a Weyauwega Elementary teacher and one of the advisers of the school’s Fuel Up to Play 60 Team.

The Weyauwega Elementary and Weyauwega-Fremont Middle School teams hosted the all-school event on Friday, Feb. 10.

In addition to Hanten, Rachel Carson, Mary Pope and Hailee Struck are the advisers of the teams.

While attending a Fuel Up to Play 60 Summit last summer, a teacher from another school district shared how it had hosted a wellness night.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is an in-school nutrition and physical activity program to help encourage today’s youth to lead healthier lives.

For W-F schools, this is their fifth years being a part of the program.

Last spring, the schools hosted a Color Run.

This past fall, Weyauwega Elementary students learned football skills during a Youth Football Outreach Camp and also received a visit from Green Bay Packers defensive back Morgan Burnett.

“We receive grant dollars through Fuel Up to Play 60 and through the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to do events,” Hanten said.

The Feb. 10 Wellness Night was their latest event.

Over the course of a few hours, students and their parents had the opportunity to try Zumba, Yoga and gymnastics.

Weyauwega-Fremont High School students taught cheers, as well as volleyball and basketball skills and drills.

They were also able to make smoothies with bike blenders, answer questions about health and relax by coloring.

“This is what Fuel Up to Play 60 is all about – family involvement,” Carson said.

Struck said the program encourages children and their parents to play outside and eat healthy.

Once the advisers got high school students on board to be involved, they brainstormed other ideas related to wellness.

They reached out to Carousel Gymnastics and local Zumba and Yoga instructors, and all agreed to participate.

“We did the bike blenders last year with the fifth graders,” Hanten said.

Waupaca County’s FoodWise and Farm to School team returned to help families turn fresh fruits and vegetables into smoothies.

Caleb Abbey was among those who pedaled on a bike to make a smoothie.

Abbey, who is a fifth grader at Weyauwega Elementary, made a pineapple, mango, kale and banana smoothie.

He also did both the volleyball and basketball skills and drills.

The sessions began every 15 minutes, and Abbey described it as a fun event.

He stays active playing football and wrestling and said he liked the basketball skills and drills.

The Fuel Up to Play 60 teams sent information home to the families.

Based on the responses the teams received, they expected more than 200 people to attend the Wellness Night.

“That was a pretty great number to see,” Struck said.

Participants also had the chance to create milk mustaches at a photo booth and try a dairy walk.

Those who attended received passports, which were stamped as they completed activities.

At the end of the night, names were drawn to receive items autographed by Burnett, as well as frisbees and balls.

The Fuel Up to Play 60 teams decided to host the Wellness Night this time of the year, because not a lot of people head outdoors for exercise during the winter.

The team will host another Color Run this spring and expressed its appreciation for last Friday’s turnout at its Wellness Night.

“We think this is something that we’d like to make an annual event,” Carson said.