Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education—the global leader in standards-aligned digital curriculum resources, engaging content, and professional learning for K-12 classrooms—announced the winners of the annual Super Health, Super You Community Challenge. Three U.S. schools, Claxton Elementary School in Greensboro, NC, Rose Acres Elementary School in Maryland Heights, MO, and Hasty Elementary School in Canton, GA, received $10,000 grants to implement innovative health solutions in local communities.
Super Health, Super You recognizes the important role school communities play in supporting the wellbeing of educators and students. The Community Challenge inspires elementary school students to develop a creative plan for solving a health-related problem. Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education selected Challenge winners based upon submissions fulfilling three categories that successfully demonstrated solutions to fundamental community health issues.
“Super Health, Super You has helped initiate healthy lifestyle conversations in schools, and has helped encourage students to think about and develop ways to make their schools and communities healthier places to live,” said Todd Hobbs, MD, Chief Medical Officer for Novo Nordisk in North America. “It’s been a pleasure witnessing the ingenuity of these students who have become health heroes for their communities.”
“Discovery Education salutes the inspirational work of the 2020 Novo Nordisk Super Health, Super You Challenge recipients,” said Lori McFarling, President of Corporate Education Partnerships at Discovery Education. “Health proves essential to the wellbeing of the whole community, and the winning projects pave the way for innovative community health.”
Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education launched Super Health, Super You in August 2017 to initiate healthy lifestyle conversations in elementary classrooms and school communities across the country. Throughout the three years of the Challenge, Novo Nordisk provided nine schools each with a $10,000 grant, including three Title 1 schools, while also enabling more than one million students nationwide advance healthy living in their communities.
The 2020 Super Health, Super You Community Challenge grant recipients and their award-winning ideas are listed below.
Nutrition and Gardens Strand
Rose Acres Elementary School (Maryland Heights, MO)
Grand Prize Concept: Let’s GROW!
Award: $10,000 to build a greenhouse and hydroponic garden
Students will get hands-on exposure to bio-science, plant life cycles, and growing food in their proposed new greenhouse and hydroponic garden. Students will be exposed to new fruits and vegetables and learn how to incorporate them into a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Physical Activity Winner
Claxton Elementary School (Greensboro, NC)
Grand Prize Concept: Active Classrooms: Engaged Students
Award: $10,000 for exercise equipment and associated teacher training
Claxton Elementary School aims to provide every classroom with the tools and training needed to implement consistent exercise and movement breaks into regular instruction. Students would be able to choose flexible seating options like yoga balls and wobble stools and will benefit from additional exercise equipment for outdoor recess time.
Grand Prize and Title I Winner
Hasty Elementary School (Canton, GA)
Grand Prize Concept: Path to Becoming
Award: $10,000 to develop a sensory walking path
Soon students at Hasty Elementary School will benefit from a new walking path designed for outdoor self-reflection. The school sees the path as a place for exercise, as well as a safe place to enjoy nature and think freely about goals and the social-emotional connections students experience.
