SHAC Local Wellness Policy

Board-approved Local School Wellness Policy

At the elementary level as part of Senate Bill 19, all students in the state of Texas participate in structured physical activity for a minimum of 135 minutes per week - hence, the CATCH program. The time in physical education is included but homeroom teachers supplement with additional minutes during the day for our students.

Healthy Choices = A Healthy CFB

A Collaboration of Fitness, Nutrition, and Health for all students.

Goals of a Healthy CFB

  • Exercise, healthy dietary patterns, and positive life choices will facilitate the quest of all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade to achieve their full academic potential.

  • Knowledge and skills introduced through Fitness, Nutrition, Health, and Wellness lessons to the students during their tenure in CFBISD will enable them to make appropriate, healthy choices during their lifetime.

Community Partners

  • CFB seeks community partners to enhance health and safety programs for all students
    • Local Fire Departments / Risk Watch
    • Brookhaven Community College/Girls In Motion
    • Magee, Verplank and Watts Family Clinic / Golf Tournament
    • Metrocrest Medical Foundation and the CFBISD Educational Foundation / CATCH funding in the elementary schools

How is CATCH Helping?

  • CATCH initiates the health, wellness, fitness, and nutrition concepts in kindergarten. Students take the message home and help their families realize that better diets and more active lifestyles will improve their quality of life.

  • Research demonstrates that students in a CATCH program report a 6% fat intake reduction that continues into high school as well as an average of eight more minutes of daily vigorous physical activity without teacher supervision years later. Students in CFB and their families continue to demonstrate the validity of this data.

There is Hope

  • Statistics show that Texas school districts where CATCH has become an active component of the elementary school day, fitness test scores have stabilized or improved. This is bearing true within CFB as the fitness data has come in at the pilot schools.

  • Texas Department of State School Health research further shows that the percentage of overweight fourth graders has dropped from 26% to 23% in the last four years as coordinated health programs have been implemented.
  • As CATCH has become the norm in CFB elementary schools, our students look forward to the daily activities that have proven to help both their fitness and their self-esteem, as well as reduce discipline referrals.

CFB Nutrition

  • CFBISD informs and empowers students, parents, and educators regarding healthy meal choices offered in the cafeteria.
  • CFBISD annually serves:
    • Roughly 700,000 Breakfasts
    • Over 2.6 million lunches
    • Nearly 100,000 after-school snacks
    • Approximately one half of these are part of the meal benefit program.
    • Before purchasing, all ingredients are tested, tasted, and reviewed, in order to ensure a lower fat content, and a reduction in sugar and salt.
    • Menus are planned to offer a balance of healthy choices each day for all students, bringing them in line with CATCH and state criteria.
  • Family resources include handouts, parent meetings, monthly menus, and internet programs.

Health & Wellness in CFB

  • Through the on-site nurses and the services of many local doctors and hospitals, the CFB health department strives to help all its families obtain quality health care in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle

  • Beginning at kindergarten, the CFB health department provides routine screenings for:

    • Hearing
    • Vision
    • Dental Care
    • Height and Weight
    • Scoliosis
    • Asthma
    • Acanthosis Nigricans (AN)

CATCH Health

  • Elementary school nurses have developed a series of presentations for parents on the importance of nutrition, diet, and exercise in conjunction with the CATCH curriculum.

  • Each elementary school has a variety of health nights for parents to educate them on the importance of good dietary habits and making appropriate choices with and for their children.

Lessons Learned

  • CFB learned long ago that one of the strengths of our district is the maintenance of strong community relationships. CFB continuously seeks the expertise of people in the community to help serve the needs of our children and families. As such, many of them donate their time and expertise to the CFB SHAC committee.

  • The School Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) in CFB is comprised of members of the community from all walks of life. Members of the local PTA's, fire departments, nurses, nutritionists, counselors, student service and family health clinic personnel, as well as various science, health, and athletic personnel take an active interest in the making the CFB community a healthy one, starting with CATCH for the youngest of students. CATCH has further helped to provide the premise for many parts of our district wellness policy.

“It Takes A Village to Raise a Child.”

  • This African proverb still holds true today. In order to raise a healthy child, CFB believes no student, teacher, or school should stand alone.

  • Instead, all disciplines should interconnect providing a framework to raise a healthy student. CATCH is helping to solidify that framework.

  • By working with our students and families CFB strives to raise able-bodied children and teach them habits that can lead to a lifetime of good health and fitness.