Westside Community Schools received the Well Workplace Platinum Wellness Award from the Wellness Council of America. The Wellness Council of America, WELCOA, gives this award to businesses who work toward linking health promotion and their business outcomes. Westside is the first school district in the country to receive this award, and one of 37 workplaces in the country to receive the award.

Sunset Hills principal Stephanie Hornung is one of four committee members on the Westside Wellness Team. As well as having this wellness team, there are 29 building representatives that organize wellness activities in their building, as well as serve as a primary contact for their school to the Wellness Committee members.

“Wellness is much more than merely physical health, exercise or nutrition. The Westside Wellness model includes social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, occupational, intellectual and physical wellness. Each of these seven dimensions act and interact in a way that contributes to our own quality of life,” said Hornung.

Throughout the school year, teachers are given the opportunity to achieve those goals through different activities set up by the Wellness Team. The latest activity is the Mission to Mars Fitness Challenge. To complete this challenge, teachers must exercise for 30 minutes, five times per week, they must eat two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables five days per week, and get between seven and nine hours of sleep five nights a week. Those who successfully complete the challenge will be included in a drawing for prizes at the end of the month.

“The mission of the Westside Community Schools Employee Wellness Program is to improve the quality of life for all employees,” said Hornung.

In the future the wellness team would like to expand the online options for the program, as well as include students in the program.