Spotlight on Grants - Wellness 101: Promoting Healthy & Active Lifestyles

Climbing classes use new equipment granted off-cycle this fall to increase access while following mitigation guidelines.

At Lake Forest High School, the beginning of the calendar year brings about a new round of course selections for all incoming and current students (minus outgoing seniors). Students, along with their parents, start to think about the next school year and discuss the varied classes offered. There may be questions about the different math, science, social studies (etc.) classes and conversations regarding AP, honors and advanced levels; but when they get to the Wellness section of the Student Course Guide, it becomes clear that, while academics are a top priority at LFHS, there is still time and space for fun (with life-long lessons and learning built in) during the school day.

From Dance, Team Sports/Fitness and Wall Climbing to Healthy Lifestyles, Lifeguarding and Outdoor Education (and much more in between), the Wellness Department’s course offerings are both robust and diverse. According to Instructional Director Mike Mizwicki, the department is designed that way so that “students take as many wellness classes as they can during their four years at school in order to find the thing(s) that they truly enjoy that will help them stay healthy, active and in shape for the rest of their lives.”

While the department has always been strong, the Lake Forest High School Foundation’s investments have played an instrumental role in transforming the wellness programming over the years. Mizwicki, who came to LHFS at the start of the 2019-2020 school year, explained that without the foundation’s funding, the programs would not be anywhere near the quality that they are today.

“There is no way that LFHS’ Wellness Department was built on a school budget alone. With the support of the foundation, we have the unique opportunity to offer every student amazing wellness experiences.”

~ Mike Mizwicki, Instructional Director for Wellness

Since 2002, the LFHS Foundation has awarded 23 grants to the Wellness Department, with funding totaling more than $170,000. The following spotlights just a few of the recent grants and how they are being used at the high school.

Weight Room Upgrade

Walk into the weight room at LFHS (aka the Fitness Center) and you will notice that there is something for everyone. In the Fitness Center, students are exposed to weight lifting, power lifting and cardio training, using a variety of treadmills, exercise bikes, dumbbells, barbells and machines. The foundation has purchased the majority of the equipment in the Fitness Center over the years, which often also included a contribution from LFHS Boosters. This past year, a grant was specifically used to update the strength training equipment, including purchasing new equipment for female lifters.

During the school day, the equipment is used for the popular Strength and Conditioning class (which has a growing female enrollment) as well as many other wellness classes. After school, the Fitness Center is also used by sports teams and students (and staff) when it is open, from 3:00 pm-5:00 pm, during ordinary years. Mizwicki said that “the Fitness Center is actually used more than any other individual room at school, with the exception of the cafeteria” and that every student will use the equipment in the Fitness Center at some point in their four years at school.

Lifeguard Equipment & AED Trainers

Since it was first offered five years ago, the Lifeguarding class has seen tremendous growth. With more than 50 students taking the class last school year, there was not enough equipment to go around and students were having to wait and watch as other students took turns with the (outdated and failing) equipment. Unfortunately, the class was not able to run as intended fall semester and it is still up-in-the-air for this semester, but when it is able to be safely held again, LFHS will be training more highly-qualified lifeguards to work at our local pools.

A 2020 foundation grant was used to purchase lifeguard tubes, backboards and practice AEDs (automated external defibrillators). “The new equipment will be used for more realistic ‘saves’ and ‘backboarding out of the pool,’ and the practice AEDs will give students more life-like repetitions as the steps are the same steps used for real AEDs,” explained Mizwicki. “You don’t want your first time using these pieces of equipment to be the first time you go through the real motions. The more reps our students have in training, the safer and more prepared they will be to save a life.”

The practice AEDs will also be used for a new Fitness and First Aid/CPR class that will be offered next school year with dual credit from the College of Lake County. “We hope that this class will keep students engaged in wellness classes throughout their senior year,” said Mizwicki. “They will be able to learn a new skill, become American Heart Association CPR-certified and earn college credits.”

Frisbee Golf Equipment

Frisbee golf, using disc golf targets recently purchased with a 2020 foundation grant, was new to the Wellness Department’s curriculum this past fall. “We work hard to introduce students to a wide variety of activities as they search to discover what they enjoy doing,” said Mizwicki. “The frisbee golf targets were set-up as a nine-hole course and were really important for our in-person classes this fall and will be again as we move toward spring. The students can interact, be competitive and play a game together outside while still staying six-feet apart.”

Mizwicki also said that “the new frisbee golf course encouraged students who don’t usually mix (such as seniors and freshman) to interact with each other during the day.” In addition to wellness classes, the frisbee golf targets can be used next year for the formation of a new after-school club as well as another LFHS Special Olympic sport.

Table Tennis Equipment

Table tennis is another popular wellness activity at LFHS. So much so that the students were “pulling them out in the morning, at lunch and after school and using their cell phones as paddles and balls brought from home to play,” said Mizwicki. “We realized that this is something that the students love to do, so we decided to add it as a regular part of the wellness curriculum.”

The high school already had four tables. With the foundation’s grant, the wellness department was able to purchase four additional tables, and in total can now accommodate a class of 32 students. “There are only so many activities that we can do to break up the monotony during the winter,” said Mizwicki. “Table tennis will be a fun indoor activity this semester and will work well within the COVID-19 restrictions.”

Hopefully, next year, students will be able to check-out the equipment and play during their free time at school. The new tables will also provide students with yet other opportunity to form a new club and allow table tennis to become a Special Olympic sport.

Climbing Wall Safety

An out-of-cycle foundation grant, which was used to purchase duffle bags so that Wall Climbing classes could meet COVID-19 safety requirements, was awarded to the Wellness Department this past fall. The department was able to create enough individual equipment kits (which contain items such as harnesses and ropes) that each student can have their own equipment during class. “This allows us to hold back-to-back classes and then clean all of the equipment at the end of the day,” explained Mizwicki. Long-term, the kits will also allow for new climbing skills to be taught, such as additional knots, wall management, rope maintenance and proper care for the equipment.

This is the second grant that was recently awarded to the Wellness Department to enhance LFHS students’ wall climbing experiences. In 2018, foundation funding was used to upgrade the wall’s hand holds. “The new hand holds offer more variety of grips and designs, which makes the wall more realistic and expands the routes available to the climbers,” said Mizwicki.

A Welcomed Sense of Normalcy

While Mizwicki stresses that the long-term goal of the Wellness Department is helping each and every student find their ‘thing’ that they will want to do after school, in college or later in life to stay active and healthy, he says that seeing the teenagers smile and laugh is a very rewarding part of his job—especially so this year. “Wellness classes are providing the students a way to socialize, which is something they are really missing out on these days. We are using the new equipment provided by the LFHS Foundation in the wellness classes to keep the students active, interested and engaged. They are having fun. Wellness has become one of the most ‘normal’ parts of their school day.”