Three schools in the School District of Philadelphia have recently produced their first Healthy NewsWorks newspapers. The Isaac A. Sheppard Healthy Shark, Alexander Adaire Fit Fish, and Julia de Burgos Healthy Super Tiger have all launched their first issues, which cover good sleep habits, bullying prevention, and the importance of exercise, among other health topics.
“My hopes for the Healthy Shark school newspaper are that students have a stronger understanding of why being healthy and making healthy choices as a child can go a long way, not just right now, but in their whole lives,” Markcus Gill, a physical education and health teacher who serves as a faculty advisor for the reporting team, said in the first edition.
Reporters at Sheppard, all fourth graders, focused on writing about being active. They talked to teachers at their school and also wrote about how they use short exercise videos as “brain breaks” during the day.
Teachers at de Burgos have similar hopes for their paper. “This newspaper is a wonderful opportunity for the reporters and all of our students to learn, question ideas, analyze new information, and form new habits and opinions,” Julia Gutman, a faculty advisor, told the Healthy Super Tiger.
In addition to producing the newspaper, the de Burgos reporters are encouraging readership for families throughout the school with a raffle for a $25 gift card for those who read the newspaper and enter.
Adaire’s first healthy newspaper, which came out at the end of 2024, featured tips for getting a good night’s sleep and an interview with their principal on bullying prevention. Fit Fish reporters were also enthusiastic about creating art to accompany the articles in the paper.
“We have had some really creative submissions for artwork, including one that has ‘Don’t Bully’ translated into more than ten languages!” said Program Director Mia Blitstein, who started working with Adaire’s reporters in the fall.
Newspaper staff for the Healthy Shark, Fit Fish, and Healthy Super Tiger are now working on their second issues, which will publish later this spring as well as articles and artwork that will appear in this year’s issues of By Kids, For Kids magazine.
