TCSH

T he Office of Coordinated School Health (OCSH) was established by the Tennessee Department of __Education__ in February, 2001. The primary mission of the office is to improve student health outcomes as well as support the connection between good health practices, academic achievement, and lifetime wellness. OCSH partners with the Tennessee Department of Health - Office of School Health. With the passage of TCA 49-1-1002 in 2000, authorization and funding for CSH was established. Additional funding has been provided by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Education reforms have not succeeded in improving the performance of all students, particularly those who do not arrive at school ready to learn. Coordinated School Health encourages healthy lifestyles, provides needed supports to at-risk students, and helps to reduce the prevalence of health problems that impair __academic__ success. **Coordinated School Health** (CSH) is an effective system designed to connect health (physical, emotional and social) with education. This coordinated approach improves __students__' health and their capacity to learn through the support of families, communities and schools working together. The CSH approach consists of eight major components. By definition, all Coordinated School Health components work together to improve the lives of students and their families. Although these components are listed separately, it is their composite that allows CSH to have significant impact. The eight components include: health education, physical education/physical activity, health services, nutrition services, health promotion for staff, counseling and psychological services, healthy school environment and student/parent/community involvement.

Westmeade Initiatives for Tennessee Coordinated School Health

**FITNESSGRAM **

FITNESSGRAM is a fitness assessment and reporting program for youth, first developed in 1982 by The Cooper Institute is response to the need for a comprehensive set of assessment procedures in physical __education programs__. The assessment includes a variety of health-related physical fitness tests that assess aerobic capacity; muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility; and body composition. What is the purpose of fitness testing? We believe it is to evaluate students against Healthy Fitness Zones, which are criterion-referenced standards that have been established to indicate levels of fitness corresponding with health. Scores and results are shared with students and parents using professional and classy looking forms. Students are given a snapshot of their fitness profiles with a focus on increasing or continuing physical activity to improve or maintain fitness. What FITNESSGRAM is not...


 * for assigning students a grade.
 * for evaluating teachers
 * a skills test or just for athletes. FITNESSGRAM is about promoting good health for all students with an emphasis on everyone being physically active every day.

Westmeade Running Club

The idea behind the Running Club is to teach the students, parents, and teachers the importance of cardiovascular fitness. Our number one goal is to encourage everyone to have fun while running! We will emphasize the following concepts: importance of stretching, injury prevention, developing a personal pace, and nutrition basics. Through this program we hope to achieve personal goals, team unity, and the idea of maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle. Our running club is connected with the ING KIDS ROCK MARATHON. The Students come in at 2:30 on select days starting in January to train for the marathon once they have __signed up__ for it.
 * ING Kids Rock Marathon Photos ||
 * [[image:ing-3.JPG caption="Teammates getting ready for the run!"]] ||