Healthy Choices: Healthy Hearts

Cuffee families visited health and safety stations during Family Wellness Night. Here, Ms. Carolina Polanco poses with her niece, Nicole Collado (Assa Meser School) and sons, Yeury, Deury and Anthony Tavarez, and classmate, Gustavo Perez (Cuffee students) at a Fingerprinting station, manned by Mike Corcoran, retired Army Colonel.

February ushered in American Heart Month at Paul Cuffee School. Early in the month, PCS hosted the first annual Wellness Night. Lower School Principal, Wendy Randle, and the Wellness Committee planned an evening that would allow students, families, faculty, and staff to partner with the community and share best practices concerning nutrition, physical activity, relaxation techniques, and health maintenance.

Nearly 200 guests from our Lower, Middle, and Upper School were attracted to booths that included a Family Wellness Resources Table, a Relaxation Station, Yoga, Blood Pressure Checks by Rhode Island College nurses, Crossfit for Kids, Main Street Martial Arts, URI’s SNAP Healthy Snacks, Smoothies, and Zumba.

Besides learning how to take care of their own health, students engaged in heart- healthy activities to raise funds for the American Heart Association, the leading provider of education, support and research on cardiovascular disease. Lower School students “jumped rope for hearts” and Middle School students shot “Hoops for Hearts”, raising almost $3,400 for the American Heart Association!

Valentine’s Day found staff outfitted in a sea of red supporting “Go Red for Women”, a program to draw attention to the #1 killer of women: heart disease. Nurse Kathy Tudino set up a buffet of “healthy snacks” in the faculty room. “A reminder,” she said, “that the food choices we make every day, not just today, can lead to a healthier, happier life.”

Archives
PCS BY THE NUMBERS

Average Class Size: 20
Current Enrollment: 820
Students of Color: 96%
Female Students: 51%
Male Students: 49%
Free/Reduced Price Lunch Eligibility: 82%
Multi-Language Learners: 19%
Students Receiving Special Education Services: 13%
Total Employees: 168
BIPOC: 45%
Female Employees: 75%
Male Employees: 25%