Wicomico School System Kicks Off Its Year-Long Fuel Up to Play 60 Initiative on Sept. 15

Some 240 student leaders from 24 Wicomico County Public Schools will gather at Salisbury University’s Seagull Stadium Monday, Sept. 15 to kick off the school system’s year-long Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative, with kickoff support from the SU Seagulls football team and Coach Sherman Wood, former NFL players Qadry Ismail and Robert Royal, and the mascots of the Baltimore Ravens and SU.

After piloting Fuel Up to Play 60 at Prince Street Elementary, Westside Intermediate and Westside Primary in recent years, Wicomico will be awarded $104,000 by the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association to fund countywide participation in Fuel Up to Play 60 at 24 schools. With support this year from the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Fuel Up to Play 60, Wicomico Schools will aim to boost student wellness and performance throughout this school year with a greater focus on being active and eating healthy.With the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association’s support for Fuel Up to Play 60 in Wicomico, the school system will aim to boost student wellness and performance throughout this school year with a greater focus on being active and eating healthy.

“We are really putting the focus on achievement and physical activity and healthy eating,” said Jason Miller, Principal of Westside Intermediate and a leader in the countywide Fuel Up initiative. “Making sure students have the chance to get their bodies moving will help ensure better brain activity, so we’ll be looking forward to seeing benefits both to student health and student achievement. We’re excited that one Wicomico school will be selected for a visit by an active NFL player later this school year, too.”

On Sept. 15, a 10-student team from every participating school (primary through high school) will be at Seagull Stadium and Salisbury University for an opening ceremony, drills with football players, healthy snacks and lunch provided by the Mid-Atlantic Dairy Council, and team planning of fitness activities and initiatives to take back to the team’s school. School Fuel Up to Play 60 program advisors at each school have selected Fuel Up team members to participate in the kickoff and launch the program in their school.

Schedule for Sept. 15:

10-10:30 a.m. Kickoff at Seagull Stadium

10:30-11:30 a.m. Drills on football field for primary and intermediate teams, and team pictures with mascots.

10:45-11:45 a.m. Team planning in the Wicomico Room of the Guerrieri University Center for middle and high school students.

12-1:15 p.m. Team planning in Guerrieri University Center and Commons for primary and intermediate teams.

12:45-1:45 p.m. Drills on football field for middle and high school teams, and team pictures with former NFL players.

Helping students and schools kick off Fuel Up to Play 60 at at Seagull Stadium will be two former NFL players who have made their own commitment to staying active and healthy. Ismail (’93-’02) was a wide received for the Vikings, Packers, Dolphins, Saints, Ravens and Colts. Now a member of the Ravens radio broadcast team, he is heavily involved in community events and particularly loves the Life and Breath Foundation to support research for the immune disease, sarcoidosis. Royal (’02-’10) played tight end for Washington, Buffalo and the Browns. He Founded the Robert Royal Foundation to help raise awareness and tackle childhood obesity by promoting education, fitness and overall health in schools and communities in New Orleans.

The goals of the Fuel Up to Play 60 initiative include:
Engaging students in planning and staging fitness drills and activities.
Improving student academic performance and health by incorporating physical activity throughout the day.
Boosting fitness activities in each school, aiming to help students reach the goal of having at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
Focusing on food and nutrition, in cooperation with Food Services
Getting enough student and staff involvement in Fuel Up to Play 60 to become a Touchdown School. At the end of this pilot year, one Wicomico Touchdown School will be selected for a visit by a current NFL player.

Fuel Up to Play 60 will look different at each school. Student teams will brainstorm ideas on Sept. 15 and then share them with their classmates, teachers and other staff members. Westside Intermediate has already started their focus by adjusting the daily schedule to incorporate 3- to 5-minute energy sessions or longer directed playbreaks during classroom instruction blocks, and to provide extra recess time on days students don’t have physical education class. Westside Intermediate and East Salisbury are also participating in Playworks, a program designed to make recess more structured and more rewarding for students.

One aspect of Fuel Up to Play 60 is an online portal where students can earn points by tracking their menu choices, physical activity, and participation in Fuel Up efforts. Students who record enough points become student Fuel Up to Play 60 ambassadors, and have the chance to be state and even national ambassadors. Westside Intermediate was the home school of Maryland’s 2014-2015 Maryland State Program Ambassadors for the NFL Fuel Up To Play 60 Program, fifth-graders Shelbie Crisman and Ryan Nay. Ryan attended the 2014 National Student Ambassador Summit for Fuel Up to Play 60, held in Texas over the summer.

Prince Street Elementary, Westside Intermediate and East Salisbury Elementary have been leaders in piloting school fitness programs. Physical education teacher Nicholas Thompson first piloted Fuel Up at Prince Street, then brought it to Westside Intermediate when he changed schools. Thompson is a member of the inaugural class of Fuel Up to Play 60 Hall of Fame inductees. His Fuel Up efforts also earned him a Simon A. McNeely Honor Award from the Maryland Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD). He is co-chair of the school system’s Wellness Committee.

“Wicomico County is doing many things, both with staff and with schools, to improve wellness and fitness,” said Michael Charlton, supervisor of physical education and health education. “Programs like Fuel Up to Play 60 and Playworks, along with our employee wellness program, will have an immediate positive impact and long-term benefits for Wicomico students, families and the community. We can’t wait to kick off Fuel Up to Play 60 on September 15 with our school teams.”