This year, the Wellness Club kicked off Midlothian High School’s very first Wellness Week from February 9-23. The week consisted of days that featured a specific theme every day to promote a different wellness aspect. On Monday, students came to school ready for bed in their coolest pair of pajamas; on Tuesday, Midlo students dressed in bright colors in support of consuming 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day; on Wednesday, students came to school disguised as their favorite movie/television characters to encourage 2 hours or fewer of screen time daily; on Thursday, students decked out in their favorite jerseys to show the importance of 1 hour of physical activity each day; and on Friday, students wore red to support American Heart Month.

The week was inspired by the 9-5-2-1-0 Campaign used in elementary and middle schools to help promote health and wellness. Midlo’s Wellness Club believes it is the first high school to use this particular campaign to inform faculty and students about sleep, nutrition, reducing technology use, and physical activity, so they decided this would be a great way to highlight health practices for high school students.

This week marked an important milestone for Midlo’s Wellness Club because Chesterfield County Public Schools is starting a new health initiative to encourage students to learn to practice healthier wellness habits. Every school in the county is asked to have a wellness team to educate and improve student health. Midlo’s team is comprised of all students, but many schools have more teachers than students on their teams.

The club experienced a very positive reaction to the week. Over 200 students participated in their activities during lunch, and many more visited to see the wellness information for the day. Pajama Day was a big hit and a definite favorite among the students.  Midlo Wellness Club members, Emma Rice, Aida Rahmanovic, Julia Alexander, Skylar West, Taylor Clennan, and Emma Neihouse, were especially helpful in the process of creating a successful Wellness Week for the students. Mrs. Renee Fiege shares on behalf of the team, “We were really happy with the support of Wellness Week. We hope to do it again next year, and we took notes on what went well, and we are thinking about ways to make it bigger and better.”.

To join this helpful, proactive club, please contact Mrs. Renee Fiege or Mr. Kevin Thomas.