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School Wellness Weekly
February 6, 2023
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Black History Month: Saving Women and Children's Lives |
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February marks Black History Month, a time to learn about and honor the contributions of Black Americans and encourage change for our present and future. With Mayor Eric Adams’s recent commitment to improving women’s health (opens in new window), this month we pay tribute to a historic changemaker whose work improved the health and lives of mothers and children across the City: Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward (1847 – 1918) (opens in new window). Dr. McKinney Steward (above left in photo) was Brooklyn’s first Black female physician, specializing in prenatal care and childhood diseases. She founded the Women’s Hospital and Dispensary in Brooklyn and was a lifelong community activist; a Brooklyn secondary school, Dr. Susan S. McKinney, (13K265), is named after her!
At a time when the maternal mortality rate for Black women in New York City is more than eight times that of White women, we have our work cut out for us to educate students and young people to care for their bodies and minds, and to provide equitable access to health care. As Mayor Adams noted recently (opens in new window):
"Racial inequities are driven by historical injustices against Black women and other women of color, exposing them to residential segregation, poor housing, intimate partner violence, and limited access to healthy food and exercise.”
Addressing and ending racial injustice is essential to creating healthy, active, safe, and inclusive school communities, now and throughout the year. See below for resources and ways to celebrate Black History Month with your students:
Photo credits, clockwise from top left: Susan Smith Mckinny Steward (Brooklyn Public Library); Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., 1963 (photo by Warren K. Leffler, Unsplash); "Black is" (Oladimeji Odunsi, Unsplash; "Love everybody" (Jon Tyson, Unsplash); 2018 School Wellness Campaign Contest winning entry by Jillian Roed; 2017 School Wellness Poster Contest entry:by Elizabeth Park. Layout design: Office of School Wellness Programs.
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Big Apple Award Nominations: Recognize an Amazing PE, Health, or Classroom Teacher!
Nominated teachers will be considered for the Big Apple Award and—if selected—will have the opportunity to serve as a Big Apple Awards Fellow during the 2022-2023 school year, take part in the Chancellor’s Teacher Advisory Council, and receive a grant to use toward their classroom. Learn how to nominate a teacher (opens in new window) who has proven to have had an impact on student learning and rigorous instructional practices, and has contributed to their school community.
Continue to read School Wellness Weekly and follow us on Twitter for the announcement of the winners later in the school year.
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Respect for All Week
Starting Monday, February 13, the DOE will celebrate Respect for All Week (opens in new window)— a time for public schools across the city to celebrate NYC students’ unique identities, and help students, staff, and communities gain a better understanding of diversity and inclusion. Respect for All is a system-wide response to bullying and harassment, and reinforces the DOE’s commitment to keeping schools safe, supportive, and free from discrimination.
The Office of School Wellness Programs is committed to advocating for high-quality, inclusive Health Education and Physical Education that reflect and honor the multiple identities of NYC students, helping them feel celebrated and empowered to stay healthy. These subjects, and programs that support them, are a powerful driver of student well-being.
Image: 2017 School Wellness Campaign Contest finalist entry by Joline Painson.
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Need NYC FITNESSGRAM Application Access? Register for Intro Webinar
Incorporate PE—and SEL—Into Your Respect for All Week Plans
During Respect for All Week, commit to expanding your professional learning around supporting students to develop social awareness, relationship skills, self-management, and other Community Building topics.
- New PE Professional Learning Webinars on Community Building
We’re excited to launch a new PE Basics 3 Community Building series focused on competencies involved in creating a community of learners and supporting the development of social-emotional learning skills in all Physical Education students. Teachers and coaches, register now (opens in new window) for the first session on Thursday, February 9, 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
K-12 Physical Education Citywide Online Professional Learning Community
Join this month’s PE Online Professional Learning Communities (opens in new window) on Monday, February 13, 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. to connect with other motivated physical education teachers and gain support in the delivery of an equitable, safe PE program in your school community. We will continue discussing "Planning- Creating Learning Objectives in Physical Education.”
At-a-Glance Guide to PE Standards and SEL Competencies
Download the free Crosswalk (opens in new window) for SHAPE America and CASEL Social Emotional Competencies. This resource aligns National Standards, Grade Level Outcomes for K-12, and CASEL’s social-emotional learning competencies to identify where they are applicable when teaching PE.
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K-12 Teachers: Build an Affirming Community with OUT for Safe Schools
Respect for All Week is right around the corner! To celebrate diversity and promote inclusion, register for this OUT for Safe Schools webinar (opens in new window) on Monday, February 6, 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. Gain tools to build affirming school communities in your classroom through instructional best practices and outside of the classroom with the OUT for Safe Schools® badge campaign, GSA club, and resource availability for LGBTQ+ students that include all their identities.
Grades 4-5 Puberty Education Webinars, February 8 and 9
Health Ed Basics 2: Puberty Education is for teachers who wish to gain the knowledge and confidence to provide students with the recommended Growth and Development lessons from the New York City Health Education Curriculum and is aligned with the National Sexuality Education Standards. Register for both parts of the course (1 and 2).
Additional Health Education Resources for Respect for All Week
Health Education and Physical Education—as core academic subjects—are critical to our students social-emotional learning competencies and help build a student body equipped with the skills they need to promote respect, embrace diversity, and foster community building. These resources (and more) are available in the Health Education Instructional toolkits for grades K-12 on the Health Education page (opens in new window) of our Professional Learning Catalog:
Elementary School
Middle School
High School
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Log in to the DOE’s TeachHub (opens in new window)
- Go to the Health Education section for grades 9-12 Sexual Health folder
- Find materials in the Understanding Self-Identity folder
All Grades
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Building the Wellness Community |
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Fostering Student Engagement in Garden and Kitchen Classrooms Webinar
Edible Schoolyard NYC (opens in new window) in partnership with the original Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley is offering a workshop on Thursday, February 9, 6:30-8:00 p.m. to explore instructional strategies that support student engagement. Register (opens in new window) to learn about how to approach engagement; lesson examples and strategies will be provided.
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Apply to Receive a $3,000 School Garden Grant
Whole Kids Foundation (opens in new window) helps schools and nonprofits turn outdoor spaces into powerful hands-on learning gardens that connect kids with food, spark their curiosity, and support classroom curriculum.
Bronx Children With Asthma: Free Pest Control Services From NYC Department of Health
The Bureau of Bronx Neighborhood Health, at the NYC Department of Health is providing free Integrated Pest Management (IPM) (opens in new window) services for households with children (0-17 years) in the Bronx with asthma, who are having issues with pests in their home. Pest prevention education and cleaning supplies are included. For more information, contact ipm@health.nyc.gov.
Expand Outdoor Learning Possibilities for 2023-2024: Apply for NYC Department of Transportation Open Streets
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Help NYC’s Asylum Seekers Get to Work and School: Donate a Bicycle!
Bike New York (opens in new window)—in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), and others—has launched a bike donation program for asylum seekers.
Donated bikes provide refugees with a reliable mode of transportation to get to work, school and appointments, helping them to integrate into their new communities. By donating a used bike, you can make a tangible difference in someone's life.
Photo credits: (top) Whole Kids Foundation, (above) Bike New York.
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Get No-Cost Dental Care at School
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February is National Children’s Dental Health Month—time to remind educators and families that the DOE, in partnership with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, offers no-cost dental services to students in schools—regardless of whether they have health insurance and with parental consent.
Educators: Communicate with your principal and parent coordinator on the status of no-cost school-based dental care. Not sure who to contact, do not know if one is authorized for school-based care, or have general questions? Email NYCDOHMHDental@health.nyc.gov. Visit the Dental Services page (opens in new window) for information on how your school can participate in a dental program.
Photo credit: NYC Health
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