January 8, 2019 — Play Every Day’s partner, the Healthy Futures program, is extending the sign-up period for the Spring 2019 Challenge so more elementary schools can participate in the physical activity challenge that runs Feb. 1 through April 30.
Every school year, Healthy Futures runs a fall and spring physical activity challenge that is free for elementary schools and students. During the challenge, students keep a log of their daily physical activity with the goal of being active at least 60 minutes a day for 15 days each month. This helps Alaska children get closer to the national recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity every day for the best health. The Healthy Futures program awards prizes to K-6 students who log their physical activity and turn in those logs at the end of each month. The state’s Play Every Day campaign continues to work with Healthy Futures to support the challenge in elementary schools across Alaska and encourage children to build the healthy habit of daily activity.
The Healthy Futures program typically starts in December — a couple months ahead of time — to sign up schools for the Spring Challenge. This year, however, schools in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough were closed in early December so school district staff could assess damage from the Nov. 30, 2018, earthquake and make repairs as needed. Healthy Futures started registering schools for the Spring Challenge in December, but decided to extend registration this month so more schools could participate.
"We wanted to be as supportive and accommodating as possible with teachers and schools dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake,” said Harlow Robinson, Healthy Futures executive director. “Extending the deadline hopefully gives our partners and teachers time to focus on recovery before looking ahead to the Spring Challenge."
As of this week, more than 120 elementary schools have signed up for the Spring 2019 Challenge. During a typical challenge, between 150 to 200 elementary schools across the state sign up to participate. You can go online to see if your school is already signed up for the Spring Challenge. If your school isn’t signed up yet, the principal or a teacher at the school can sign up for free using this simple online database.
If you have questions about signing up for the Healthy Futures Challenge, contact Alyse Loran, Healthy Futures program coordinator, at (907) 360-6331 or alyse@healthyfuturesak.org.