RLC’s Children’s Health Fair to welcome local schools for day of health education

INA, Ill. (Jan. 12, 2016) - Local grade schools are invited to spend the day at Rend Lake College this spring to give students in kindergarten through sixth grades the chance to learn about their bodies, and how to keep them healthy, at the Children’s Health Fair, scheduled for 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Friday, April 8 in the James “Hummer” Waugh Gymnasium.

The event spawns from last year’s Health and Wellness Fair that brought out many local grade schools for health activities and events geared toward students. This year’s fair will focus on students from schools in the RLC district by encouraging them to be active, eat better, and much more.

“The attendance of over 350 area school students at last year’s health fair, helped us to make the choice to serve children only at this year’s fair,” explained Beth Mandrell, Reference Librarian and event organizer. “Another contributing factor is, through the fair, we can offer area schools an educational event close to their location, which is especially important with schools having little or no travel money. Our goal for hosting a health fair for children is to help start an early awareness of the choices they can make to keep their bodies healthy.”

The main activity for the children will be a Healthy Body Walk with six sections for the students to interact with and learn about the different systems of the body. RLC students in a variety of health care programs will discuss the systems and the ways the children can take care of their bodies through fitness and nutrition.

“The Healthy Body Walk was one of the most attended activities at last year’s fair so we wanted to bring it back by popular demand,” said Mandrell. “Teachers who brought their children to last year’s Healthy Body Walk gave us plenty of positive feedback, such as ‘Our first graders really seemed to enjoy themselves,’ ‘Great education for children on health,’ and ‘Students loved the Body Walk.’ This activity also offers RLC students, enrolled in Allied Health courses, an opportunity to put the skills they have learned into practice.”

In addition to the Healthy Body Walk, the students can also participate in any of more than a dozen stations on various topics including germ and hand washing; fitness through gaming, cycling, and dance; anti-bullying; teeth, vision, and hearing health; and much more. RLC students from many different clubs will also be on-hand assisting with interactive poster sessions and other activities.

Special sessions for healthy snacks and Jiu-Jitsu will be held by King’s Way Foods and iQ Athletics’ Jared Jessup. The Franklin County Ag in the Classroom and Franklin County Extension Center will also attend to provide special Ag in the Classroom and STEM hands-on activities as well.

All activity booths will be located in Waugh Gymnasium, the Aquatic Center lobby, and outside, weather permitting. Interested vendors and school officials may contact Beth Mandrell for more information at 618-437-5321, Ext. 1276 or mandrell@rlc.edu.