Ocean Springs High to receive $50000 grant for healthiest school designation

Ocean Springs High School has won The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation’s Healthiest School Designation for 2018, earning the school a $50,000 grant to promote ideas and activities to improve the health and wellness of students and staff at the school.
Cicely Wallis, the OSHS Health Council Coordinator, said the grant will fund a variety of activities and items for the staff and students.
“The $50,000 grant award will purchase timing equipment for a variety of races as a healthy fundraising alternative, order an interactive projector for our gymnasium, update the OSHS nutritional lab, and complete placing hydration stations on each water fountain in OSHS,” said Wallis.
The goal of these awards is to motivate Mississippi schools as they create and maintain healthy school environments. Healthy schools help students achieve full academic potential and support them in developing lifelong healthy behaviors. The Healthy School Awards will assist school leaders in their efforts to make their schools, and ultimately our state, a healthier place to live.
In 2016, Ocean Springs Upper Elementary won the designation of Mississippi’s healthiest school and a grant for $50,000. Those funds were used to promote healthy choices, construct an outside walking track, and purchased new playground equipment and obstacle course.
The OSHS Health Council will host its 2nd Annual Healthy Hounds event Saturday at the high school. Registration begins at 8:15 with a fun run at 9am. A health fair will also take place from 9-11am in the OSHS cafeteria.
This free event will feature health screenings, a how-to about organic gardening, and tips about preparing easy, healthy snacks.