“My classmates use their water bottles, I use my water bottle, we all use our water bottles,” fifth-grader Kendall Bingham said.
Bingham is one of 400 students at Hurt Park Elementary who received a water bottle on the first day of school.
Now, you’ll see students taking sips in the classroom or taking water breaks during gym.
It was an idea Principal Sharon Hicks had after talking with the school’s PTA.
“And we talked about hydration and what it does to help the student focus in school as well as decrease agitation,” Hicks said.
She learned more information after reading about the Drink Up initiative to get people to drink more water.
Soon, volunteers donated enough money to buy a filtration system and each student their own water bottle.
“They receive Husky Bucks for the responsibility of bringing their bottle back everyday to school,” Hicks said.
“We’re hoping that it will instill it in them at a young age and it will carry on throughout their lifestyle,” physical education teacher Jessica Keane said.
A Brita Hydration Station is now located in the gym for easy access to fill their water bottles.
“They come through in the morning for breakfast and they go straight to the hydration station, when come go to lunch they come right to the hydration station as well so the students have really caught on to the importance of water and staying hydrated,” Hicks said.
Brita has even reached out to the school to do a study on the students’ performance on standardized testing, ability to stay focused in the classroom and their behavior.
“We have seen less disciplinary issue happening here at Hurt Park and we do contribute some of that to students staying hydrated during the school day,” Hicks said.
These may not be things these students realize but you can tell they like the water.
“It helps you stay energized and hydrated, and a whole lot of stuff,” Bingham said.
So each chance they get, the continue to drink up.
[via WDBJ7]
