Trash or Treasure Halloween Candy Wrapper Collection Again!

I am pleased to announce that Wayland Middle School will be participating in Rubicon's Trash or Treasure program again!

Here is a brief overview of the program:

Last year, we collected over 5lbs. of wrappers and received this cool certificate:

I think we can beat our last year amount! Each homeroom will have a collection bag for all used wrappers. There will be a box in the main hallway also, if students and faculty would like to deposit their wrappers directly into the box. It looks like this:

 

Happy Halloween! Let's work together to keep as many wrappers as we can out of the landfill. 

Yours in Health, 

6th Grade Backpack Safety Awareness Class

Source: https://tinyurl.com/yb3awwms

Wellness Teacher & Certified Athletic Trainer Pam Riddle and Dr. Bradley Weiss of Performance Health Center of Natick, MA, presented a backpack safety and injury prevention lesson this past week to the 6th grade class. 

Dr. Weiss

 

Here is a message from Dr. Weiss about the backpack safety and injury presentation lesson: 

Your child’s backpack should never weigh more than 15% of their body weight. Every years we give a series of Backpack Safety Workshops at a local Middle School. A random sampling of the student’s backpacks found the majority were 25-30% of their body weight. Only one student’s backpack was below 15%.

Heavy backpacks are one of the major causes of back pain in school age students. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics 6% of 10 year olds and 18% of 14-16 year olds have low back pain. Only 7% of those children with low back pain seek medical treatment.

There are many causes of low back pain in children including laptops, sitting, smart phones and poor posture. Here we will focus on backpacks. Below are important tips to make backpacks less dangerous to your school aged children:

• Make sure your backpack weighs no more than 10 – 15% of your body weight
• Empty your backpack periodically to insure it contains no unnecessary items
• Make sure your backpack hangs no more than 4 inches below your waist
• Use both straps!
• Use thickly padded straps
• If your backpack has a waist strap, use it!
• Always place the heaviest items closed to your back (your center of gravity)
• Always lift with your legs, without twisting

To reach Dr. Weiss, email him at DrBradWeiss@PerformanceHealthCenter.com 

To read the full article, click here. 

The Wellness Department would like to thank Dr. Weiss for his donation of time to supporting the education of our students. 

Yours in Health, 

2023 CPR cards were emailed out this past weekend!

Attention 8th graders, 

CPR cards were emailed a few days ago. Please check the email you provided for your card. Let me know if you have any questions. 70 students got certified this year!

Yours in Health, 

Wellness Department Recycles 5# of Candy Wrappers!

 

The Wellness Department partnered up with Rubicon for their Trick or Trash program. Although we collected wrappers last year, this was the first year we were able to secure our own box to fill. 

Bags were placed in each homeroom for easy collection, and we were able to divert almost 5 POUNDS of candy wrappers from the landfill!

If you want to learn more about what happens to the wrappers once they arrive at the facility, you can watch this video:

Thank you to all who helped me make this year's collection such a success.

Yours in Health,

Plastic Film Recycling Initiative!

WMS Wellness Department has spearheaded a schoolwide plastic film recycling initiative. With the reliance on single use disposable water bottles in school, there has been a surge in plastic case wrap. As this type of flexible plastic is not allowed in curbside recycling, it winds up in the trash/landfill. 

Plastic Film Recycling is a website that I found last summer when I noticed a "how 2 recycle" logo on an Amazon mailer that came to my house. 

With just a bit of research, I learned that not only are those Amazon bags recyclable (just remove any labels or stickers) but so much more flexible plastic is as well.  

Have you ever walked into a grocery store like Shaw's, Price Chopper or Whole Foods, or a retail store like Kohl's or Target, and noticed bins marked to collect plastic shopping bags? If so, you now know exactly where to dispose of your flexible plastic!

The image above shows you just how many different types of flexible plastic that can be collected and recycled in drop off locations. Use the interactive tool on the Bag and Film Recycling website to find a collection spot close to you. 

After just four days of collecting plastic case wrap, I took an extra large garbage bag to my local Shaw's Market to recycle! 

Here is the bag that I recycled next to the plastic collection bin. These bins were found in the same space where you return bottles and cans. 

With the help of 7th grade students, large bags have been placed in each spot that plastic water bottles are stocked. This has already proven to increase proper disposal in the first week!

Do you recycle this kind of plastic in your home? Would you start? If so, tell me in the comments!

Yours in Heath, 

Wellness Department is collecting candy wrappers to be recycled!

For the second year, Wellness teacher Pam Riddle has teamed up with Rubicon's "Trick or Trash" collection program. Collection bags have been placed in each homeroom, with a large collection bin placed in the main entrance hallway. We encourage everyone to save their empty candy wrappers from ending up in a landfill. Send them into school to be collected and recycled!

Any questions, please contact Ms. Riddle

Yours in Health, 

National School Backpack Awareness Presentation for 6th graders

 

source: https://nationaltoday.com/national-school-backpack-awareness-day/#:~:text=U.S.,injury%2C%20which%20can%20impact%20learning

The Wellness Department was fortunate to have the expertise of Dr. Bradley Weiss & Dr. Annette Ghelfi of Performance Health Center in Natick present to our 6th grade classes this past week in honor of National School Backpack Awareness Day. 

Here is a message from Dr. Thomas Ball of Performance Health Center about the backpack safety & injury prevention presentation:

We are honored to take the time to educate parents, students, educators and school administrators, and communities about the serious health effects that backpacks that are too heavy or worn improperly have on children.  More than 79 million students in the United States carry school backpacks.

 • More than 2,000 backpack-related injuries were treated at hospital emergency rooms, doctor’s offices, and clinics in 2007.

 • It is recommended that a loaded backpack should weigh approximately 10% of the student’s total body weight.

 • About 55% of students carry a backpack that is heavier than the recommended guideline of 10% of the student’s total body weight.

 • In one study with American students ages 11 to 15 years, 64% reported back pain related to heavy backpacks. Twenty one percent reported the pain lasting more than 6 months.

 • In a study on the effect of backpack education on student behavior and health, nearly 8 out of 10 middle school students who changed how they loaded and wore their backpacks reported less pain and strain in their backs, necks, and shoulders.

We also discussed "Text Neck" and how too much time spent looking down at your phone can cause damage to the cervical vertebrae.  Finally, we showed students how to properly wear and pack their bags to maximize comfort and reduce pain. 

As always you can contact me with any questions at Performance Health Center.  

The Wellness Department is very thankful for our continued collaboration with Performance Health Center. 

Yours in Health,