South high athletes share health, fitness tips

South High School students are teaching others how to live a healthy life. Select members of the Athletic Honor Society have become teen wellness trainers, spreading messages about healthy eating and physical fitness to Valley Stream elementary school students.

In October, 10 students from South were sent to Adelphi University to be trained on how to teach others about healthy lifestyle choices. The training was offered to students free from the Nassau County Health Department, and only 10 districts participated.

Peter Schoen, of the Health Department, discussed the importance of this new initiative. “Childhood obesity is a problem in the United States,” he said, “so we’re trying to do our part in Nassau County.”

The students from South put their training to good use for the first time on Jan. 10, visiting second-graders at nearby Forest Road School. The group from the Athletic Honor Society introduced the elementary students to some healthy snacks they may not have tried before, and taught them some simple exercises they could do at home to stay physically fit.

South’s wellness trainers also taught the second-graders how to read food labels to determine nutritional value, and how food advertisements can be deceptive.

Sarah Santos, a senior at South and president of the Athletic Honor Society, said the students at Forest Road seemed receptive to the message. “We hope they’ll make better choices about what to eat,” she said. “When I was younger, I wish someone would have told me these things.”

Santos said that after the October training, she and her fellow wellness trainers had to develop a program for Valley Stream’s elementary school students.

Senior Jesse Hernandez helped introduce the students to some healthy snacks including an apple banana fruit sauce, sweet potato chips, pita chips and hummus. He said not all students, but most, were willing to give it a try. “They were really enjoying the food, which was really nice to see,” he said.

Second-grader Karen Dial said she tried the snacks, and will even consider incorporating it into her regular diet. “I think I’m going to ask my mom to buy some of the hummus,” she said.

Students also learned how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diet. Hernandez said they taught the second-graders fun ways to do that, such as by making a fruit smoothie.

Franco Visone, the Athletic Honor Society’s advisor, said the 10 students were chosen because they are stellar athletes, good students and he knew they would serve as role models for younger children.

Visone said that the wellness trainers are already making plans to do the presentation at other elementary schools in Valley Stream, as well as with junior high students at South. “I’d love to see them do this all over the town,” he said.

He said he was pleased with the success of the initial presentation at Forest Road School, where the wellness trainers split up and worked with small groups of students in each second-grade class. Visone noted that the elementary students were engaged in the activities and the Athletic Honor Society students were well prepared.

Forest Road Principal Erin Malone said second-grade is the perfect age to start teaching children lifelong healthy habits.

The students got the message. Second-grader Jordan Carter said he wants to be healthy and will make physical fitness part of his routine. “Exercising is important,” he said. “It makes you strong and healthy.”