WELLNESS
Wellness Is a Priority in Chimacum
We believe that student, family, and staff wellness are the cornerstone of student achievement and connection to school. Through board policy, strategic planning, promoting wellness activities, and nurturing community partnerships we are co creating a culture that prioritizes the well being of all.
Our District Strategic Plan lifts up wellness as one of the five areas of our strategic work. We believe that:
When we cultivate and maintain a balanced sense of physical, mental, and emotional well-being fueled by healthy food, relationships, facilities, and a positive environment, we support our students, staff, and families to take strategic actions to benefit all students.
Our CSD Wellness Policy (6700) includes our commitment to the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, the USDA Smart Snacks in Schools Standards, the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program, and K-12 Physical Education Learning Standards. This board policy commitment and building our community partnerships have enabled us to focus on several areas to promote wellness.
We have an active and engaged Wellness Committee composed of administrators, teachers, food service staff, health professionals, parents, and community members—all devoted to updating and helping to implement an effective set of practices for supporting student health and wellness in our schools.
Serving locally-sourced, nutritious food to all free of charge- Using public and private funding sources we prioritize scratch cooking in our kitchens, and serving nutritious, seasonal food- much of which is grown in our school gardens and the Chimacum Valley. Because we qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision through Washington State, we serve free breakfast and lunch to all students through 2026. In addition, students have opportunities to develop work and life skills through our culinary arts, food truck, and agriculture/horticulture classes.
Opportunities for staff wellness activity and restoration- Wellness Wednesdays are a mainstay activity embedded in the work day for our staff once a month. Staff members can choose from an array of activities from yoga and dance, to affinity groups for cycling and walking, to working with practitioners in nutrition or massage. One teacher commented, “It's been refreshing to take a breather with colleagues and do something that invigorates the soul.” This program has been made possible with private funding through the Community Wellness Project, and through Jefferson County.
Emphasize behavioral and mental health supports, and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)- Our students, staff, and families have had a rough couple of years. The post-pandemic time has people feeling frazzled, stressed, and lonely. We have added counselors and mental health specialists through an array of programs and partnerships. We believe that stressed students can’t learn, so we are doing everything possible to support our staff and student stress levels, giving them the tools, the time, and the care to make better decisions when they are emotional, and to provide a safe and warm learning environment to improve learning for all of our students!
We have room to grow with our wellness work. We will be adopting classroom party policies, refreshing our PE curriculum, and adding new student activities for after school. These and other initiatives will support our community wellness in ways that make sense for Chimacum and can be a model for other small, rural school districts.