Mountain Lake Public Schools

The meeting covered old business items including discussions about completing a triennial assessment by December 2024, checking on access keys for staff to use the weight room, and adding student council presidents at the next meeting. Progress was noted on ensuring Physical Education classes covered safe walk/bike rules by September 20, 2024, distributing grief camp information for an October 5th event, researching the purchase of more disabled playground equipment, and planning a vaping prevention program for grades 5-8. New business focused on determining if the Elementary School still has a snack break, creating a survey for elementary students regarding physical activity in classrooms, and reviewing/updating the Wellness Policy.

The Wellness Committee meeting addressed ongoing wellness initiatives, including the continuation of daily Physical Education classes in grades K-10, 20 minutes of Elementary recess daily, the use of Go Noodle/Brain breaks in K-3, scheduling of cooking classes, and planned Chef Visits and Windom Hospital Visits for Grade 4 students. New business focused on the need to plan for a triennial assessment, noting the implementation of free meals for students which currently serves approximately 90 HS and 130 Elementary students for breakfast, and 180 HS and 228 Elementary students for lunch. The committee also discussed starting a meeting session for anxiety students, allowing water bottles, checking into staff use of the weight room, and plans to add the Elementary Physical Education teacher and both Elementary and High School Student Council Presidents to the committee in the fall of 2024.

The Wellness Committee meeting included discussions on old business items such as completing a triennial assessment by December 2024, checking on obtaining room keys for staff to access the weight room, following up on the purchase of adaptive equipment for the playground, and planning a vaping prevention program for grades 5-8, including contacting a potential presenter. The committee noted that the elementary school no longer has a snack break and identified a need to find someone skilled in creating physical activity surveys for elementary classrooms. New business involved reviewing and updating the Wellness Policy, noting that the previous update on July 15, 2024, used the incorrect policy version, with plans to correct it at the December board meeting. The committee also planned to inquire about the status of the anxiety room for FY25, investigate the wellness committee structures at other schools, and consider organizing a weight room instruction class.

The meeting addressed continuation items from Old Business, specifically regarding daily Physical Education classes and the continuation of Elementary recess for the 2018-2019 school year, and noted the addition of water fountains/bottle fillers. A key discussion in New Business involved planning for kitchen cooking classes for Elementary students, chef visits with new food sampling, evaluating the Taher App, updating vending machine snacks, implementing Go Noodle/brain breaks for Grades K-3, and scheduling monthly visits from Windom Hospital for 4th grade.

The committee discussed the completion of a triennial assessment and reviewed statistics regarding the free meal program implementation in the 2023-2024 school year. Key topics included making room 101 available for anxious students during lunch, encouraging water bottle use, checking the feasibility of staff using the weight room, and planning to add the Elementary Physical Education teacher and Student Council Presidents to the committee in the fall of 2024. New business involved addressing elementary staff access to the weight room, planning for air quality alerts during outdoor activities, reviewing safe walk/bike rules in Physical Education classes, distributing information about a grief camp, considering the purchase of disabled playground equipment (swing), and planning a vaping prevention program for grades 6-8.