CLEARFIELD – For 31 years, a dedicated group of volunteers has been bringing interactive health and safety learning to fourth-graders in the Clearfield Area School District.
On May 7, the fourth-grade students from Clearfield Elementary School, St. Francis School and the Clearfield Alliance Christian School participated in the 31st annual Kids Health Fair. The event was held at the Expo II building at the Clearfield Fairgrounds.
The event was made possible through the hard work of the Penn Highlands Clearfield Auxiliary committee members, Ginny Johnson, Susan Stiner, Judy Walker, Mary Sue Diehl, Mary Walker and Lorna Simcox.
Also assisting in the event were 23 nursing students from the Clearfield County Career and Technology Center, under the supervision of Arlene Homan and Tonya Saggese.
“We started this health fair for children because we wanted to do something to get them interested in health and wellness,” Johnson said.
The volunteers started to research programs that organizations like Penn State were doing to promote childhood health and how to get children interested.
“We learned that the more hands-on approach works better,” Johnson said. “The more the kids get involved, the more fun they have and the more they’ll learn.”
The students rotate through different stations, which cover a variety of subjects, such as drugs and alcohol, bicycle safety, germs and hygiene, fitness and nutrition as well as a gardening station presented by the Hobby Garden Club. The students go home with fun knowledge and a goodie bag at the end of the day.
Johnson said about 206 students participated in this year’s event and plans are already in the works for the 32nd Kids Health Fair.
“We’ll get together to start working on next year as soon as we’re finished today,” Johnson said at the fair. She said the committee will start making contacts for participants and begin coordination for next year’s event in February.
The fair kicks off with the poster contest in March, where each student draws a poster portraying that year’s theme. A panel of judges reviews the entries in April and the winners have their posters on display as well as being included in the health fair’s booklet.
This year’s contest winners are: First Place: Aubrielle Hodanish, Clearfield Elementary; Second Place: Aeowyn Ramkawsky, Clearfield Alliance Christian School and Trotman Scaife, Clearfield Elementary; Third Place: Joell Henry, Jayden Bunnell and Hayle Lansberry, all of Clearfield Elementary; Fourth Place: Kara Graham, Madison Howe, Caleb Guiher and Maddilyn Rae Shaw, all of Clearfield Elementary; and Honorable Mention: Ashton McBride, Landon Brady and Ava Kalgren, all of Clearfield Elementary.
The event was made possible with the help of Agway, Penn Highlands Clearfield, PH Clearfield Auxiliary Volunteers, Clearfield Schools Transportation Department, CBT: a division of Riverview Bank, CNB, the elementary school principals, staff and fourth-grade teachers, the Hobby Garden Club and the CCCTC practical nursing students.
