The second annual Health and Wellness Staff Fitness Challenge is done and dusted. The challenge, which kicked off on September 30 and ran through November 10, is part of the school’s overall wellness strategic initiative and designed to encourage friendly competition to help faculty and staff reach their fitness goals. 

The Wellness Team launched the six-week challenge to get employees moving. School Nurse, Tabatha Thomas, said, “This is a fun way to get more active! Whether you bike to work, take a walk over lunch, hike in the mountains, or grab a yoga class, you are awarded points for movement.”

School Nurse, Eveli Sarinana, added, “We sweetened the deal this year by awarding participation in addition to output. We think everyone who participates is a winner! Each week, we drew five participants for a prize. At the end of the six weeks, we awarded the top ten participants with the highest activity numbers.”

Thirty-seven faculty and staff members participated in the challenge, logging a total of 21,493 minutes. Walking was the most popular activity.

The top ten finalists include:

1. Shangzhu Situ
2. Javier Madrigal
3. Yohan Sery
4. Teresa Ferrandez
5. Daphne Schirar
6. Ana Rilla Tuero
7. Jennifer Pettigrew
8. Assia Bourkaib
9. Jing Chen
10. Elyssa Hernandez

This challenge has been a fantastic journey, not only for me but for the whole team we created. We've really built up some great energy, motivating each other to stay active and try new things together. It’s been wonderful to see so many of us at ISDenver connecting over activities like skating, skiing, and more. Our team embraced a healthy, competitive spirit that kept us going, and the sense of community really brought us closer. I hope everyone continues with these healthy habits—it’s amazing to feel stronger and more connected!

 

- Javier Madrigal

Sarianna continued, “There are so many benefits to this type of challenge. Increased physical activity has been shown to reduce stress and improve overall health. Plus, we think a little friendly competition among colleagues means we are all a little more likely to get and stay active.”

ISDenver embraces community wellness and is committed to caring on many levels, personally, professionally, physically, and mentally.  Growing and learning, evolving and improving, persisting and striving for better is also part of our values and mission.