Dear JRB Family and Friends,
I hope everyone is having a great start to the school year. The students are coming to PE excited and always ready to go. It is so nice to have everyone back in school together. Over the past few years, I have been trying to incorporate more health concepts into PE so that the students are getting the physical and health education they need. To help increase their knowledge of healthy concepts I’ve teamed up with our fabulous nurses Mrs. Shea and Mrs. Flis and we are going to start to have “Health Themes of the Month.” Each month typically has an awareness theme that we will discuss at the beginning or end of each class throughout the month. These areas could be things like hygiene, heart health, mental health, and so on. At the beginning of each month, I will post some information about each month's topic. We would greatly appreciate it if these topics were also discussed at home so that everyone can learn more about the topic.
Throughout the month of October, our focus will be Healthy Lung Awareness. Did you know that according to the National Institute of Health we breathe about 25,000 times a day; that is a lot of huffing and puffing. Seeming that we breathe that many times a day it is so important that we do what is necessary to take care of our lungs. When it comes to taking care of our lungs there are many things we can do.
First off, we can try to take in as much fresh air as possible; that's right kids, it's time to get outside and play. Being outside offers us some of the freshest air possible, especially if you can get out into the woods and go for a hike up Mount Watatic or Mount Wachusett.
Secondly, we can do simple things such as clean our house to improve the air quality we are breathing in when we are at home. In the spring and in the fall there tends to be a lot of allergens in the air such as pollen, dust, and animal dander. This can make it more difficult to breathe especially if you have asthma. Take a minute and help your family members vacuum and dust so that you can breathe in the cleanest air possible when you're inside.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, is that we stay away from air pollution and smoking. Now it is tough to sometimes see pollutants in the air. Ashburnham and Westminster are considered rural towns and we are lucky because there are very few factories and we don’t have traffic which allows us to have low levels of pollution in our area. When it comes to smoking or vaping it is very important that we stay clear of this habit. Smoking and vaping can lead to some very serious health issues such as cancer and other respiratory diseases. When we smoke we fill our lungs with toxins that make it harder for our lungs to function. When our lungs don’t work properly it also affects how oxygen moves throughout our body which can also lead to other health issues.
Throughout the month of October please take a minute and explain the importance of why it is important to take care of their lungs. Here are a few links that you can search if you are looking for more information.
Thanks and Keep Moving
Mr. Berg, Mrs. Shea, and Mrs. Flis
https://nationaltoday.com/healthy-lung-month/#faqs
https://www.lung.org/
https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/smoking-cessation-fast-facts/index.html
