Ocean Beach Elementary Hosts District's Winter Wellness Showcase

In late February, School Site Wellness Coordinators, District Wellness Council Members and San Diego County community partners convened at Ocean Beach (OB) Elementary for the district’s inaugural Winter Wellness Showcase. The event was an opportunity for those guiding wellness efforts throughout the district to celebrate wellness-in-action at a school site. The group toured the school’s campus to learn how OB Elementary staff, parents and students have been successfully collaborating to support the health & well-being for their school community.

Principal Marco Drapeau, first grade teacher Leanne Tanner, long-time community outreach liaison Donna Lamb, occupational therapist Kristy Nalder, PTA health champion Jody Madigan and UCSD Center for Community Health’s School Wellness Program Director Rachel Kramer led the tour. Together they shared strategies for active recess, staff walking paths, school gardens, garden to café, healthy fundraising, action-based learning, Harvest of the Month, effective community partnerships and healthy celebrations for staff and students. Afterwards, Food & Nutrition Services Department hosted a Smart Snacks Tasting for attendees to experience some of the healthy food options available from the District’s Catering Department.

The District Wellness Council would like to thank and congratulate the Ocean Beach Elementary School Wellness Committee and their PTA’s Healthy Choices Sub-Committee for their amazing work in wellness! Special thanks to our partners UC San Diego Center for Community Health, Alliance for a Healthier Generation and California Schools VEBA for their partnership in the Winter Wellness Showcase!

To learn more about our District Wellness Initiative, please visit https://www.sandiegounified.org/health-and-wellness or contact Kate McDevitt, District Wellness Supervisor at wellness@sandi.net.