Clintonville Middle School
Clintonville, WI

When it comes to school health and wellness, Clintonville Middle School in Clintonville, Wisconsin found inspiration and collaboration across state lines. After attending the SHAPE America National Physical Education convention in Nashville, Tennessee, the idea of the Grasshoppers Jump Rope Team came to life.

A physical education teacher from Kennesaw, Georgia presented at the conference and shared the story of their school jump rope team and the benefits and impact they experienced for years to come after launching the program. Seeking to increase and improve physical activity opportunities in their school through new and exciting programming, Clintonville Middle School was able to kickstart the Grasshoppers Jump Rope Team with support from their 2018-2019 Game On grant, awarded by Action for Healthy Kids and sponsored by Saputo.

clintonville1Students are invited to jump rope during recesses throughout the day and to join the after-school jump rope team. Additionally, Clintonville Middle School implemented a “games program” on Tuesdays and Thursdays before school where students are invited to play (or jump rope!) before the school day begins. With these new programs, students have increased their physical activity minutes and participation has continued to grow.

Kristin Birling, a parent of a Clintonville student, shared “My kids have been bugging me about being in Grasshoppers! They love to jump rope and are so excited to be a part of it.”

While initially targeted for middle school grades, interest in the younger grades grew upon hearing about the after-school Grasshoppers, so the Grasshoppers Jump Rope Team was opened to include students in grades 2 through 4 as well.

To complement their physical activity initiatives, Clintonville has also begun serving healthy snacks at their after-school program. Students are given a wide variety of nutritious snacks that provide good energy before practice sessions. Staff has utilized this opportunity to provide mini lessons on reading nutrition labels, understanding the benefits of eating healthy, and identifying energy-rich snacks. Staff and parents are excited for these programs to grow, especially with so much enthusiasm from the students. With a spring walk in the works and a jump rope team highlight performance during the basketball halftime show, students at Clintonville are hopping towards their healthiest year yet!