Nutrition & Wellness Triennial Assessment
Mission Statement
To improve the health and well-being of every member of the Dolphin Family by educating our students, teachers, and staff on the importance of good nutrition and wellness; and by creating a healthy and wholesome environment within so that we may be a beacon to our community.
Core Messages
• Healthy students are better learners Healthy students are better on all levels of academic achievement: academic performance, education behavior, and cognitive skills and attitudes.
• Schools can influence eating and physical activity behaviors Students spend much of their time at school, and may eat as many as 2 out of 3 meals per day and may get much of their physical activity at school.
• Healthy, successful students help build strong communities Investing in the health of students contributes to healthy communities in the future.
• All students deserve the opportunity to be healthy and successful Providing access to healthy foods and physical activity plays an important role in the academic achievement of students.
Committee Includes school administrators, teachers, parents, city representatives and a GSBOE member:
Matthew Akin
Stephanie Harrison
Amanda Talantis
Jennifer Guthrie
Jennifer Murphy
Lauren Bodenhamer
Alison Ferrell
Kristen Madsen
Alicia Early
Tim Webb
Cindy Veazey
Kimberly Pennington
Jill Morgan
Delaney Blain
Tanya Hill
Ellyson Lawrence
Linsdey Palamara
Kelly Walker
Holly Howell
Subcommittees
• Physical Activity- Provide opportunities to increase physical activity.
• Smart Snacks- Make healthy snacks available and replace food as a classroom reward.
• Education- Bridge the gap between the lunchroom and classroom. Eat local, whole foods.
Success Stories:
1. Eat the Rainbow: During Eat the Rainbow week, teachers incorporated colorful nutritious food into their curriculum and dressed in the vibrant colors.
2. Farm to Table Event: Hospitality and Tourism, Culinary, and Agriculture students collaborated to grow produce, develop recipes, collaborate with community partners, event planning and marketing, and hosting an impressive Farm to Table Event in March.
3. Farm to School: The Child Nutrition Program has made connections with local farmers and are now serving in season produce. The Hospitality and Tourism classes grow lettuces for use in our cafeteria lunches.
4. Microgreen Tasting: High school students researched the benefits of microgreens and developed a dressing to serve with them. High schools provided elementary school students with taste testing on field day.
5. What’s Your Superpower?: HOSA members and culinary students gave away colorful fruit at Earth Day and shared with their peers the healthy benefits of eating your colors.
6. New Snack List: The elementary school has revamped their snack options for sale to exclude some sugar snacks and offer healthier options.
7. Sitting is the New Smoking: Teachers were given the option of having convertible standing desks purchased by the Central Office.
8. Dolphin Walk: ROTC students, committee members, and City of GS employees have been collaborating to develop walking paths on campus. Currently signage is being made for the paths and GSHS senior, Kevin Ellis, is working on this website and app to calculate the miles walked by our Dolphin family.
9. Water Forward Campus: We have requested more water bottle refiling stations, making water available in the cafeteria, and encouraging reusable water bottles.
10. Staff Professional Development: Our CNP workers met with local chef to discuss and brainstorm ways to enhance the cafeteria food given the federal and state restrictions. (i.e. You can’t add sodium for flavoring.)