Four staff members at Bluffton Elementary School have been rewarded for being physically active role models for students. The school is the Northwest OHSAA district region winner in the Health Action Council’s Healthy Kids Fall Step It Up Challenge.

Bluffton is among six schools receiving $1,000 for achieving the most steps.

The team reported, "We had fun encouraging each other through another competition and it of course is worth it with the reward we were granted! We love getting to see the stats of other teams as it is a great motivator to keep moving."

Here’s how team members explained their "get your body moving" habits:

● Jamie walks with her first grade students during her recess duty instead of simply standing around. 

● Ryan is a gym teacher and participates in class activities instead of sitting and watching (he even calls us teachers in to participate every now and then!). 

● Missy is our guidance counselor and is often seen walking or doing another physical activity when she is helping a student. 

● Heidi teaches kindergarten and promotes healthy habits by stretching with her class every morning, by walking around the classroom while reading a book instead of sitting, and by incorporating physical brain breaks into her routines almost every 10-15 minutes. 

"Our students also get to see us after school coaching youth sports in the community. Our coaching consists of soccer, baseball, basketball and track! All of us even had family/friends helping and cheering us on as they would join us for a walk/run."