Kimberly Elementary School’s outstanding Student Wellness Ambassadors are pictured with sponsor Rosalind Harkless-Brown.
As Atlanta Public Schools concluded the 2015-2016 school year, the APS Nutrition Department announced its annual “Outstanding Student Wellness Ambassador” (SWA) School winners. Warren T. Jackson, L.O. Kimberly and Parkside elementary schools received “outstanding” honors after illustrating their schools’ efforts to promote health and wellness in the annual SWA video contest.
While Kimberly SWAs stayed busy decorating their monthly health-themed “Wellness Tree” and tending to their impressive indoor gardens, Jackson ambassadors created and displayed signage promoting physical activity, explained the role of calories to their peers, and promoted their morning jogging club.
Parkside SWAs, meanwhile, actively led their school’s efforts with jumping rope for heart health, participating in garden taste tests, hosting a “Parkside Pride” one-mile fun run, and launching a “Karate Kid” club. In addition, all three schools attended the SWA Leadership Academy, where they pledged to eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water.
In order to recognize the accomplishments of this year’s outstanding SWAs, the Nutrition Department, in partnership with Sodexo-Jackmont Hospitality, hosted an elegant picnic for each of the winning schools’ student wellness ambassador groups.Students were served fruit-infused water, a strawberry spinach salad, summer rolls with ginger soy dipping sauce and fruit kabobs. The students enjoyed the menu, as well as the accompanying etiquette lesson presented during their meal.
The ambassadors, their sponsors, and each individual-winning school received a framed certificate for their achievement. Also, each ambassador was gifted with a cilantro planting kit to encourage his or her continued interest in planting and gardening.
The APS Nutrition Department is very proud of all the hard work and passion each student contributed to their schools this year. The department would also like to send a special thank you to each Student Wellness Ambassador sponsor for their time and dedication to the SWA program. Rosalind Harkless-Brown of Kimberly Elementary; Bethany Black of Jackson Elementary; and Armelia Braddy of Parkside Elementary have really set the mark for implementing wellness at their schools. Way to go SWA sponsors!  Congratulations on your teams’ success, and thank you for continuing to model and promote healthy behaviors.
