Roary asks Coach Chris for another chance to run and catch the football. Photo by Jessica Steeley

BY JESSICA STEELEY
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Bailey Lake Elementary students learned about living a healthy lifestyle during their second annual Health and Wellness Day.
The day began with a variety of health experts from around the Clarkston community visiting the school and doing different health sessions with the students, PTA President Dena Pflieger said.
Pflieger was one of the chairpersons who helped create and run the PTA-sponsored event.
“The kids were able to spend about 15 minutes as they went to six different sessions so they learned a lot of different kind of health topics,” she said.
A leadership session in the afternoon was led by two coaches from the Detroit Lions Football Education Division and the Lions’ mascot, Roary.
The afternoon also involved the students in an Academic Service Learning project, Pflieger said, with students doing some work with an elementary school in Flint.
“It’s health about our personal self, but also how do we help the people around us,” she said, “helping our own health and then helping health of others, so it’s kind of neat to have the whole view of health.”
Principal Glenn Gualtieri said it was a great day for everyone and displayed the healthy body, healthy mind connection which promotes an active, healthy learning style.
“In the Lions assembly, they talked about being a learner for your entire life and that’s what we try to talk about here with the students and our teachers,” Gualtieri said. “The teachers learn with our students every day. I know I learn something from my kids every day, and it’s another way to promote that in a different light.”
He also said visiting community members could connect with students and share their professions’ message about how what they do in life affects staying healthy and being mentally strong.
“It’s neat to make those connections with the community, do an academic service learning project and also having some visitors not only our kids can learn from, but our adults can learn from too,” Gualtieri said.