Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education Announce "Super Health, Super You" National Community Health Challenge Winners

Silver Spring, Md., May 9, 2018 /3BL Media/ – Novo Nordisk, a global health care leader in diabetes care and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge winners in celebration of thriving, healthy and active school communities across the United States.  

The Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge, designed to help elementary school teachers incorporate healthy lifestyle education into their curricula, inspired elementary school students to develop new ways to help their school’s community healthfully and holistically flourish. Challenge winners were selected by local educators, Discovery Education, and Novo Nordisk across three categories, and have successfully demonstrated fundamental community health concepts in their submissions. Three Super Health, Super You Community Health Challenge schools, in Indiana, New York, and Mississippi, today were awarded $10,000 each to implement forward-looking healthy lifestyle solutions for their communities. The Grand Prize Winner, PS 104Q: The Bays Water School, will also be nationally recognized by Novo Nordisk and Discovery Education during an in-school assembly.

“Teaching kids at a young age the importance of a healthy lifestyle is so closely aligned with our company’s purpose,” said Craig Bleifer, Corporate Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Novo Nordisk. “Our mission is more than developing medicine, and that’s why we value our partnership with Discovery Education, so that we can drive change in our communities to ultimately defeat diabetes and other serious chronic conditions.”

The Community Health Challenge Winners are listed below:

Grand Prize Winner: Nutrition and Gardens

PS 104Q The Bays Water School | Far Rockaway, N.Y.

Grand Prize Concept: Wellness Reading Garden

Award: $10,000 to develop the Wellness Reading Garden and a national recognition ceremony

To address food insecurity, community safety, student literacy, and nutrition and health, PS 104Q will use their prize to create a wellness reading garden – complete with fruits and vegetables that students will plant and harvest themselves. Through the school community garden, local youth will learn about plants, the science behind how they grow, and healthy food options. Students will also have a tranquil place to be mindful.

Physical Activity Winner

Burris Laboratory School at Ball State University | Muncie, Ind.

Winning Concept: Superhero Climbers

Award: $10,000 to develop a student inspired climbing wall 

Burris Laboratory School students designed a climbing wall –inspired by elements from their favorite superhero video games – to encourage their classmates to stay physically fit. Burris Laboratory School will apply their award to build the wall and promote physical activity twice per week.

Title 1 Winner

Eastside Elementary School | Clinton, Miss.

Winning Concept: Hey you – YES, YOU! Get up and Get Movin’!

Award: $10,000 to develop a comprehensive community active lifestyles initiative

To promote active lifestyles, Eastside Elementary School, will engage students, teachers, and parents in physical activity challenges and healthy eating promotions to model ideal behavior for students. The Hey you – YES, YOU! Get up and Get Movin’! program will partner with a local gym to provide Kids Seminars, encourage teachers to leverage their free periods to engage in at least 30 minutes of exercise, and the initiative will encourage family fitness with Fun Fitness party rewards. Eastside Elementary will also leverage their award by kicking off Eastside Eats – an immersive school webpage meant to host healthy family-friendly recipes that are enjoyable and easy. As well, Eastside Eats will invite high school culinary arts students to present healthy food demonstrations to the school’s students.

“We applaud Novo Nordisk’s leadership in championing the future of community health and congratulate this year’s challenge winners for their innovative ideas,” said Lori McFarling, senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “Super Health, Super You helps educators, student and communities understand the power of making healthy lifestyle choices, and Discovery Education is proud to partner with Novo Nordisk to increase health awareness and engagement.”

The Super Health, Super You program activates schools to think critically about the health and wellness of their student population. Exercises and activities present fundamental community health concepts, and the program’s online hub houses downloadable content about diabetes prevention, fitness, nutrition topics, and latest news regarding the Community Challenge.

Online materials for educators and parents include:

• Lesson Plans and Activities: Six lesson plans are available for upper elementary school students to highlight community health, including addressing external factors contributing to health, and the relationship between food choices and diabetes.
• Digital Presentation: A student-facing presentation that walks students and teachers through planning and growing a garden. The presentation is available to classrooms.
• Family Toolkit:  To extend the learnings beyond the classroom, a family toolkit comprised of two community-health based family activities – one family discussion prompt will be available later this year.

For more information about the Super Health, Super You program, visit superhealthsuperyou.com.

For more information about Discovery Education’s digital content and professional development services, visit DiscoveryEducation.com. Stay connected with Discovery Education on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @DiscoveryEd.

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About Discovery Education
As the global leader in standards-based digital content for K-12 classrooms worldwide, Discovery Education is transforming teaching and learning with award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional learning, and the largest professional learning community of its kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students, Discovery Education’s services are available in approximately half of U.S. classrooms, 50 percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50 countries around the globe. Inspired by Discovery, Inc., Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase academic achievement. Explore the future of education at DiscoveryEducation.com.

About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, has been committed to discovering and developing innovative medicines to help people living with diabetes lead longer, healthier lives for 95 years. This heritage has given us experience and capabilities that also enable us to help people defeat other serious diseases including obesity, hemophilia and growth disorders. We remain steadfast in our conviction that the formula for success is to stay focused, think long term and do business in a financially, socially and environmentally responsible way. With U.S. headquarters in New Jersey and production and research facilities in four states, Novo Nordisk employs nearly 6,000 people throughout the country. For more information, visit novonordisk.us, Facebook and Twitter.

Contact:

Erin O’Brien, Novo Nordisk Inc.

erob@novonordisk.com, (609) 751-1470

Charmion Kinder, Discovery Education

Charmion_Kinder@discovery.com, (240) 274-2173