Miss Oklahoma visiting Cotteral on Friday morning

Cotteral Elementary is taking the lead for student health by participating in a nationwide wellness initiative. Community-focused and fun, Fuel Up to Play 60 is activating schools and communities to support school wellness initiatives, good nutrition and physical activity, which help educate students and curb obesity. In partnership with the National Dairy Council, Dairy MAX, and the National Football League (NFL), Cotteral Elementary and its students are recruiting friends, parents, teachers and business and community leaders to join them in pledging to adopt healthier behaviors, such as choosing foods encouraged by the United States Department of Agriculture, which has also joined the initiative, and committing to 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

Cotteral Elementary is hosting a Fuel Up to Play 60 kick-off assembly featuring Miss Oklahoma Betty Thompson on Friday, November 18 at 10 a.m. for the Kindergarten students. “It is important develop healthy eating choices and habits now and that includes drinking your milk, or three servings of dairy every day, and to participate in programs like Fuel Up to Play 60 with your friends,” Thompson will tell the students.

Cotteral Elementary plans to target the more than 250 Kindergarten students with the Fuel Up to Play 60 lessons of eating healthy and playing for 60 minutes every day. The Kindergarteners will start by signing the Fuel Up to Play 60 pledge which states “I will energize my body and mind by eating healthy. I will be active at least 60 minutes each day.”

“At school, we are in a unique position to influence the eating and physical activity habits of students,” says Jordan Hodge, Cotteral Physical Education Teacher. “We need community-wide support to help our students build positive, lifelong habits, and Fuel Up to Play 60 provides the healthy messages, resources and activities we need to get started.”