Wellness
Sayre's wellness program helps to fulfill our mission of empowering students to lead purposeful lives. The development of a strong intellect is inextricably linked to making good choices about one's personal health. Promoting wellness involves increasing awareness of healthy eating, physical fitness and responsible behavior. From the classrooms to the dining hall and the athletic fields, we provide diverse opportunities that foster healthy choice-making for Sayre students, faculty and staff.
Good Health Through Good Nutrition
The school's food service plays an important role in supporting campus-wide wellness. It is our responsibility as a school to provide wholesome foods to eat. Faculty and staff must be diligent to keep our students with food allergies and/or intolerances safe. Nutrition education is infused into our school curriculum, with importance placed upon it just like English, math, science, language, and arts. Nutrition education is shared within the community.
Everyone is encouraged to begin the day with a healthy breakfast. Students who have breakfast are more successful in the classroom. For adults, it kick starts the metabolism to help burn calories at a swifter pace throughout the day.
At lunch, we encourage everyone to eat a well balanced meal, including a small portion of protein; some whole grain pasta, legumes, or potatoes; 2 or 3 fruits and or vegetables; low fat milk, juice, or water. During lower school lunch, we give students a vegetable and a fruit automatically. Studies show that it takes up to 8 different introductions to a particular food before a child will enjoy it. Peer pressure helps here, too; seeing a friend enjoy, for example, broccoli, will encourage a child to try it.
Consuming a variety of foods ensures a good variety of nutrient intake. These different nutrients; protein, vitamins, minerals, work together to keep our bodies functioning optimally. For young athletes, this equates to muscles growing stronger, and bodies healing and recovering from rigorous activity quickly and more efficiently.
As a society, we consume too many carbohydrates, too much salt and sugar, and our portions are too big. We do not consume enough fruits and vegetables. Dieticians suggest we should eat 7 fruits and vegetables daily. Throughout the day, there are several opportunities for students to have healthy snacks. This is a tremendous opportunity to get 1-2 more fruits and vegetables into our students’ diet.
Fitness for Life
The fitness curriculum is based on the philosophy of the Physical Education department, in conjunction with the school’s philosophy, which is to develop the whole child. We believe that our role is not only to develop athletes, but to help our students grow physically, socially, and emotionally. Sayre stresses a lifetime of fitness for our students by developing an awareness of healthy lifestyles, and instilling the importance of teamwork and good sportsmanship in all activities.
Students are provided the opportunity to develop physically, promoting expressive and effective movements. The concept of fitness for a lifetime is emphasized. Opportunities for self-management are abundant. Participation in all activities is encouraged and expected. Each student’s potential is challenged and leadership qualities are refined. Social behaviors are developed. Basic team concepts and individual skills are introduced, developed and mastered.
- Sayre applied for AHA Fit School 1/26/13
- The school exceeds recommended standards for Physical Education and Recess as detailed below:
- Daily recess for 20 - 30 minutes (Preschool-Grade 8)
- Physical Education classes up to 4 times a week focusing on lifetime fitness
Building Healthy Bodies and Minds
School Counseling
Knowing and relating to oneself and others is part of a life-long journey. Life skills learned in the classroom and private, confidential conversations with the school counselor support that journey at Sayre. Learn more about Sayre's School Counseling.
Community Matters
To guide students and foster their understanding of themselves and their roles in the larger community, Sayre offers a wide range of life skills classes, clubs, activities, and programs to reach students in all divisions. At the core of these experiences, you will find our Community Matters principles of wisdom, integrity, respect, and compassion.
Green Dot
Green Dot is a component of Sayre’s comprehensive bullying and harassment program. Green Dot equips students to recognize types of power-based personal violence and to be prepared to respond. Green Dot also encourages students to proactively promote the norms that power-based personal violence will not be tolerated, and that all will do their part to keep each other safe. Classroom training occurs annually through health and PE for all ninth graders. In addition, a select group of juniors and seniors chosen by their peers attend Bystander Training. Middle and Upper School faculty were trained four years ago, and new faculty are trained through the mentoring program. Refresher activities are completed during Tuesday faculty meeting times.
Alcohol/Drug Education
Educating students to make informed, healthy choices is the goal of the drug and alcohol program at Sayre. Through seminars with prevention specialists, college peer educators, and health classes, students are encouraged to face these issues and ask the tough questions. Outside of the classroom, there is a faculty support team named CHAT.
Sexual Health
Human beings are also sexual beings from birth throughout their lives. Puberty classes begin in the fourth and fifth grades and continue in a developmentally appropriate curriculum through Middle and Upper School. Topics focus on anatomy and physiology, self-image, sexual health, and relationship skills. Sexuality is treated as being integrated into the development of the mature person. As part of a carefully crafted curriculum, students have the opportunity to explore these issues in an honest, open, and respectful manner.
Teen Health and Wellness online resource
The Sayre library provides students with access to http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/ which is “an award-winning, critically acclaimed online resource providing students with nonjudgmental, straightforward information and support on topics including diseases, drugs, alcohol, nutrition, mental health, suicide, bullying, green living, financial literacy, and more.” This is reliable information grounded in science and medicine that can be accessed by teens in a sensitive, private manner.