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School Wellness Weekly

February 5, 2021
Student drawing of four interlocking hands. Three of the wrists have wristbands with the words: Survivor, Black Lives Matter, Prevent Suicide.
Black History Month and Respect for All: Celebrating Now, Honoring Always 
Starting today, February 5, the DOE highlights Respect for All Week—a time for all school communities across the city to celebrate diversity and respect. 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. February also marks Black History Month, a nationwide celebration of the contributions of Black Americans and a time to reflect on the past to encourage change and reverse inequities for our present and future. Read how some New York City students and educators are fusing advocacy with “Black joy” in Following A Year Of Pandemic And Protests, NYC Schools Kick Off Black Lives Matter ‘Week of Action' (opens in new window).

We believe that respecting all students and staff, reflecting on the lessons learned from the Civil Rights Movement, being an ally, making space for all religions, advocating for people of all abilities, celebrating all gender identities and sexual orientations, and addressing and ending racial injustice are key to creating healthy, active, safe, and inclusive schools, now and throughout the year. 


Photo credit: 2017 School Wellness Poster Contest entry, Elizabeth Park, J.H.S. 074 Nathaniel Hawthorne, Queens
Wellness Highlights
All Schools: Free CHAMPS Physical Activity Guides Now Available to Support Remote and In-Person Physical Activity  
In the CHAMPS Sports and Fitness Program, students participate in fun, safe, and supervised physical activities before and after school. This school year, the DOE is offering all schools free access to new CHAMPS online fitness-based physical activity guides from four partner organizations, to provide safe, high-quality physical activity options that schools can use to enhance PE lessons and existing physical activity programs:

  • BOKS by Reebok Foundation
  • Running Program by New York Road Runners
  • Physical Literacy Program by Play Rugby USA
  • Fit 5 by Special Olympics

For the 2020-2021 school year, students can participate in activities remotely or in-person at school. For details about and links to the activity guides, see the CHAMPS Fitness-based Physical Activity Guides page (opens in new window) on the DOE InfoHub (requires DOE login). 
Physical Education
K-12 Teachers: Register for New On-Demand and Live Webinars Through June
Looking to sharpen the tools in your instructional toolbox? Register for our upcoming live webinars and access On-Demand webinars by visiting our Professional Learning catalog (opens in new window). Teachers can access new webinars that provide the foundational concepts and skills from the PE Basics 1-3 offered in past years:

  • On-Demand webinars: Pre-recorded for teachers to review on their own time.
  • Live webinars: Interactive sessions allow teachers to ask questions and get answers in real-time.
Health Education
Additional Health Education Resources for Respect for All Week
Health Education instruction is critical to our students’ physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being. Use the following lesson plans and resources during Respect for All Week—and throughout the year— to help create safe, supportive, and inclusive in-person or remote classroom environments. These resources and more are available in the Health Education Instructional toolkits for grades K-12 on the Blended and Remote Learning page (opens in new window) of our Professional Learning catalog:

Elementary School

Middle School

High School

K-12 Teachers: New Online Webinars for Teaching Basic Health Education Skills
More than 1,000 teachers have registered for our PE and Health Education professional learning sessions since we officially launched the winter and spring offerings! Don’t miss the opportunity to reinforce your instructional skills by accessing new webinars that provide foundational concepts and skills from the Health Ed Basics 1-2 sessions offered in past years. 


  • On-Demand webinars: Pre-recorded for teachers to review on their own time.
  • Live webinars: Interactive sessions allow teachers to ask questions and get answers in real-time.
Building the Wellness Community
School Equity and Racial Justice Opportunity: Activists x Academics
Join Teens Take Charge (opens in new window) and the UCLA Civil Rights Project (opens in new window) for a virtual national summit (opens in new window) focused on racial justice in K-12 public schools on Saturday, February 13, 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Planned by youth for a broad national audience, the event is an opportunity to learn directly from youth activists on the ground and adult leaders who have been fighting for school equity for years.

School Staff Serving Grades 8 to 12: Free Online Mental Health Program from Peer Health Exchange
Help your students learn how to take care of, maintain, and seek resources for their mental health with the Centered program from Peer Health Exchange (opens in new window) —a free, online, asynchronous, 7-module SEL and mental health student program. With assistance from Peer Health Exchange, school staff will learn how to successfully guide their students through the program over the course of the spring. To learn more, fill out this brief interest form (opens in new window) or email HealthEdWorks@schools.nyc.gov (opens in email window).

Share with the Entire School Community: Join MLB Infielder Todd Frazier for a Virtual Event with USA Baseball on February 9
This free Zoom sessi​on for elementary students, families, and caregivers on Tuesday, February 9, at 6:00 p.m. features Major League Baseball player Todd Frazier in a fun, interactive event that's part of the USA Baseball Homegrown series. Get to know Todd, his favorite hobbies, and learn from his personal and professional journey. Students can also submit questions prior to the event for a Q&A session with Todd. Register to join on Zoom using the USA Baseball Homegrown Event registration (opens in new window). Space is limited to 1,000 attendees; first come first serve.