The School District of Palm Beach County made New Years’ resolution of living a healthier lifestyle into action by encouraging students, staff and faculty to take part in the WonderFit wellness challenge which kicked off on February 6, 2013. WonderFit, a four-week competition, encouraged overall well-being by increasing daily physical activity levels through various exercise activities. The event was sponsored by The School District of Palm Beach County in partnership with Onehealth, UnitedHealthcare and Wells Fargo.

During WonderFit, members of the SDPBC completed a total of 1,048,800 minutes of exercise which includes 148,250 minutes of stretching, 776,730 minutes of aerobic exercise, and 123,820 minutes of strength training. This is just another way The School District of Palm Beach County is taking the initiative to become healthier through fun and exciting opportunities.

Individual schools also competed in a bonus challenge to have the most students and staff participate in 30 minutes of Zumba exercise during the school day. Each school that accepted the challenge and submitted an upbeat video of their participation was awarded bonus points to go toward their team’s WonderFit score. Almost 1,200 students and staff from across the School District participated in the Zumba challenge and submitted videos of their exercise. Benoist Farms Elementary won the challenge with over 800 participants at their location.

To view the video showcasing the Zumba events point your browser to: http://www.onehealth.co/zumba

The team that came out on top overall in the WonderFit wellness challenge was Benoist Farms Elementary with North Transportation coming in 2nd and South Intensive Transition at 3rd. The winning location received fitness prizes for participants. In the individual tier, Angela Brent-Harris showed her persistence by winning top individual with Charlie Donahue and Carme Crespo coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Individual winners received a full customized WonderFit Nike outfit. Wellness Champions who also had the most registrations were given Nike Athletic Shirts.

This was an easy, fun physical activity program that offered competition and the motivation to be healthy. As we strive to inspire employees to take personal responsibility for their health, it is exciting to see people getting fit and feeling wonderful.