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The best of health
 A high school student, teacher, and elementary school health and fitness committee received Public Health Achievement Awards from the Dakota County Board of Commissioners at the April 10 Board meeting.
The awards, presented annually during National Public Health Week, recognize contributions of people and organizations for their work building and sustaining healthy families and communities in Dakota County.
Award winners included Natasha Sinha, a junior at Farmington High School, youth category; Jack Olwell, a physical education teacher at North Trail Elementary in Farmington School District, individual category; and the Red Pine Elementary School (ISD 196) Health and Fitness Committee, community group category.
Sinha has been a leader and role model as a youth teacher for 4H and a strong advocate for teaching young people the importance of making good decisions throughout their lives.
“I want to help make their futures bright,” Sinha said. “Just to teach someone to not use drugs can change how they live their life.”
Olwell has promoted the connection between academic success and physical activity during the 35 years he has taught physical education. The curriculum he developed embeds literacy components into active games to improve reading for struggling students. He developed a similar model for students challenged in math. Olwell has made numerous presentations to educators throughout the state on promoting health and academic success for students.
The Red Pine Elementary School Health and Fitness Committee promotes a healthier, more fulfilling life for students by helping them gain skills and knowledge to establish and sustain healthy eating and an active lifestyle. The committee has implemented a number of programs, including “Safe Routes to School,” which has doubled the number of children who walk or bike to school. Red Pine was the first school in Minnesota to create a “Safe Routes to School” plan, and they have shared their success story with countless schools across the state.
The Dakota County Board of Commissioners established the Public Health Achievement Awards in March 2000. The annual awards recognize and honor the contributions of Dakota County residents who devote their time, energy and talents to create a healthy future for all residents of the County.
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This page was last updated on: 04/17/2012
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