Lord Nelson holds Healthapalooza

Lord Nelson School is developing self-care superheroes.

Lord Nelson held its fifth annual Healthapalooza event on April 29. The day included a variety of health and wellness activities, including a superhero training academy led by Mister Be Active. 

The caped fitness crusader guided Lord Nelson students and staff through an outdoor story-based workout, dubbing his new recruits the Courageous Kindergarteners, the Wondrous Ones, the Terrific Twos and the Thrilling Threes.

“The first super skill we need to work on is our super speed,” said Mister Be Active, whose secret identity is rumored to be Technical Vocational High School phys-ed teacher Jethro Bartelings.

“Get into a super stance. Imagine we’re about to start a race. I want you to imagine you’re going so fast, people can’t even see you.”

Earlier in the day, Lord Nelson students participated in an art activity, led by Children of the Earth High School students Sky and Mary-Anne McLean. The sisters are members of the school’s Omazinibii’igeg Indigenous Artist Collective.

Sky and Mary-Anne, in Grade 12 and Grade 9 respectively, drew inspiration for the art project from a story about strawberries that their mother would share with them. The Ojibwe word for strawberry is ode’imin, which translates to “heart berry.” 

The COTE students taught Lord Nelson students how to paint their own heart berries. 

“Sky and Mary-Anne said they were nervous about leading the project, but they were glad they accepted the challenge as it demonstrated to themselves and others their capabilities,” said Cynthia Flett, visual arts teacher at COTE.

“The sisters also felt that the project brought them closer together as it required days of collaboration and cooperative work to develop the concept and to design and prepare the video lesson.”

The heart berry painting lesson was a big hit with Lord Nelson students.

“The painting was fun for me because it was nice to have a paintbrush in my hands again and to create a lovely art piece,” said Brynn, a Grade 6 student. 

“I had so much fun creating the strawberries, the blending, smudging and small dots. Everything made this moment perfect.” 

“Painting was my favourite activity because it was relaxing and calm,” said Jordan, a Grade 6 student.

Healthapalooza also included a seed planting activity and a virtual mini-concert courtesy of cherished children’s entertainer Fred Penner. 

“His songs were catchy and uplifting and they brought a smile to my face,” said Chelsea, a Grade 6 student. 

“I liked all the different instruments he played, especially the jaw harp. I found the sound of the jaw harp strange and amusing to listen to.”

The theme of this year’s Healthapalooza was “seeds of self-care.”

“We’re trying to remind everyone that even though it’s been a rough year, it’s still important to pause and take time to take care of ourselves,” said Daniel Keith, Lord Nelson vice-principal, after a superhero training academy session.

“Our focus is physical wellness, emotional wellness and mental wellness, and we tried to touch on all those things as we planned the activities.” Keith said Lord Nelson accessed grants from the city and province to make the day possible. 

“We’re really excited about giving students the chance to connect with wellness in some really fun ways and to show off some of the strengths of people in Winnipeg School Division,” Keith said.