Please stand up: it benefits your health it’s like sleep mode. It’s just this complete depletion of their mental and physical abilities,” Coverdale said. Coverdale also hen stepping into Lana Cover- explained how she is able to relate to her dale’s vibrant classroom stu- students when they are constantly sitting. dents get to see excited smiles, colorful “I’ll tell you that I’ve been there. I student-made posters used to work in an office and lots of pictures of where you sit a predompuppies. Coverdale’s inant amount of time, classroom appears to be and any time you have a a great learning envimeeting here at school, ronment for developing you sit. It’s like any enstudents. What is not on ergy you had when you the surface is the deep walked through the door concern Coverdale has YOU CAN SEE KIDS was depleted as soon for her students’ physyou walked into the IN THE HALLWAY as ical and mental health. meeting.” Coverdale Her concern stems from AND THEY’RE said. the amount of time that Since becoming LIVELY… AND aware students spend sitting. of these daunting According to the SOMETIMES WHEN realizations, Coverdale Kaiser Family Foundabegan implementing THEY COME INTO has tion, students are sither brain break method ting up to 85 percent CLASS AS SOON into her curriculum and of waking hours, and activities. Brain AS THEY SIT daily prolonged sitting is a breaks are short activpotential cause for an DOWN, IT’S LIKE ities that let students extremely long list of up and participate SLEEP MODE.” stand health issues. In adin physical movement. dition to the physical Mrs. Lana Coverdale, Coverdale regularly tries issues extended sitting Spanish teacher to incorporate Spanish causes, it has also been into brain breaks to help found to be a factor in mental health and her students practice pronunciation and to school performance. counteract the physical and mental conse“You can see kids in the hallway and quences of lengthened sitting. they’re lively… and sometimes when they “I think brain breaks are a really cool come into class as soon as they sit down, idea. Mrs. Coverdale’s class is the only Tierra Combs Staff Writer
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class I really get to have fun and learn at the same time,” said Mia Collins (10), a student in Coverdale’s seventh-period Spanish class. Coverdale also decided to apply for a grant through Actively Learn and Steelcase. If received, these grants would enhance the learning environment with new, stunning mobile and stand-up desks. When Mrs. Coverdale received the news that she did not receive either of the grants, she was extremely disappointed. “The last [grant] that I put in for was
Photo by Tierra Combs
Lana Coverdale, Brooklyn Stidham (10), Molly McGannon (10) and Chase Fleenor (10) participate in a Spanish pronunciation activity during seventh period Spanish class.
through Steelcase. They would come in and redesign your classroom. They looked really nice… I would have loved to get that,” Coverdale said. Despite losing the grants, Coverdale is continuing to encourage her students and fellow teachers to stand up, get moving and create healthier habits in the classroom.
