Wellness and Physical Fitness Guide 2013-2014
(QLA) Wellness and Physical Fitness Guide. Rationale: According to the required QLA, all students will maintain or display improved health and fitness. Staff has identified obesity in cadets as leading problem for enrolled students. Initially over 70% of students were either identified as overweight or obese. This problem coincides with the current Childhood obesity epidemic throughout the world, with rates tripling over the past 30 years. Recent studies have also proved that physically fit students are better learners. Strategies: 1. Creation of a QLA Health Council a. Will develop or work together with the existing bodies to monitor school nutrition and physical activity policies and practices. The councils may include parents, students, administrators, QLA staff and health professionals. The Councils role is advisory and monitoring. 2. Nutritional Quality of School Meals a. QF nutritionists will monitor and develop a healthy menu for all students. The QF nutritionists will also develop special menus for the obese and overweight students. 3. Nutrition Education and Promotion a. QLA will work with QF to develop and maintain effective partnership with members of the school community. In partnership meetings QLA will discuss health related topics at the school. 4. Physical Activity Opportunities and Physical Education a. QLA will provide daily physical education. Students should spend at least 50% of their physical education class time in moderate to vigorous physical activity. 5. Staff Wellness a. QLA encourages its staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Staff should lead by example.
Assessment and monitoring students: QLA has adopted several standardized fitness tests as its standard method of assessing student’s health related fitness. Students are also measured with a Body Fat Analyzer to determine their wellbeing and their improvement. Every two months students will be measured using the following criteria as a way of determining individual physical fitness. • Physical tests o Push-Ups o 1 min Sit-Ups o 12-Min run o Shuttle run tests o Pull-Ups • Body Fat Measuring device o Body Mass Index (BMI) o Percentage Body Fat o Fatness (combination of all fat levels)
Consequences: Students found not fit according to the Physical tests will be placed on a rigorous fitness program to promote their health and wellbeing. While on this program, student progress reports and benchmarks will be measured at the beginning of each month. Students found to be in the Overweight or Obese categories will be placed on a healthy and rigorous fitness program to promote their health and wellbeing. While on this program, student progress reports and benchmarks will be measured at the beginning of each month. It is expected that parents support and contribute to the success of this program by adopting healthy habits (exercise and healthy eating) while students are on leave from the academy. Key benchmarks must be met for students to maintain their cadet eligibility at the academy. Failure to meet benchmarks may result in dismissing a student from the academy. Students not meeting these expectations will be referred to the Health and Fitness Council to determine their eligibility and whether they are a good fit for QLA.