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Poland students encouraged to DAWG: do, act, wonder, grow
POLAND
Do, act, wonder, grow.
That’s what Poland’s third- and fourth-grade students were encouraged to do at the second annual DAWG Day that took place at Dobbins Elementary School on Friday.
Students rotated between 12 stations dedicated to activities and topics such as physical activity, nutrition, sports safety and more. They also had the chance to meet Erin Gabriel, a Poland graduate and star athlete who went on to play softball at the University of Tennessee.
Event organizers said DAWG Day aims to teach students life lessons beyond what they are learning in their classrooms.
“The purpose of DAWG Day is to teach students that there is more to an education than just the pencil and paper,” said Dobbins Principal Michael Daley. “We’re heading into summer, and there are lots of ways students could get into situations” where this kind of information would help them make good decisions.
“Third- and fourth-grade, they’re at the age where they’re starting to make independent choices,” Daley said. “Rather than just hope that’s happening in their daily lives, we take responsibility for having these important conversations with them.”
School district employees were joined by representatives from Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley, the Western Reserve Joint Fire District, Youngstown Orthopaedics, a dentistry, plus coaches and student athletes.
At one station about nutrition, an Akron Children’s representative set up a multicolored wheel students took turns spinning. When it landed on a color, the student had to answer a nutrition-related question, such as what food groups should make up most of their meals.
At another station, students jumped rope.
At another, they posed for pictures with the bulldog mascot and Gabriel, who answered questions from her inquisitive audience. She talked to them about recovering from an injury that led her to give up playing softball to avoid further injury.
“It was really hard, because it’s been a passion of mine,” she said, adding the setback gave her the opportunity to pursue other passions and challenges.
The event was organized by the Dobbins Health and Wellness Committee, led by school district nurse Cathy Fedor and district food service Director Barb Walko.
“They’re getting information that’ll help them make smarter choices in the future,” Fedor said.