5 Hall schools awarded wellness micro-grants

GAINESVILLE - Each year, the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) awards micro-grants to help schools across the nation with wellness initiatives in their schools as an important part of their school-nurse childhood obesity prevention education program (S.C.O.P.E.).

This year five Hall County School District nurses have been awarded NASN Grants for their schools: Dawn Wales, LPN/ Sugar Hill Elementary; Karen Blakely, RN/Martin Elementary; Susan Abernathy,LPN/Riverbend Elementary; Andrea Williamson-English, RN/Chestnut Mountain Elementary; Sid Smithson, LPN/Chestaee High.

Their schools will receive amounts up to $2,500 enabling the school nurse to institute changes within their school environment, ranging from improved nutrition to increased physical activity. Ideas for the grants incuded a fitness trail for the school and community and the Dance-Dance Revolution video systems.

S.C.O.P.E. was brought to the Hall County School District (HCSD) as a direct result of the partnership between HCSD and United Healthcare to combat childhood obesity within our community.