Students’ health and well-being will always be a priority at WIS. The World Health Organization defines health as a “state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This can be interpreted as being able to live a happy and satisfying life with little impairment. Arguably, one component of well-being, which is often overlooked in our society, is the importance of daily physical activity. We all know that regular physical activity helps to prevent disease and improve life expectancy. However, daily exercise and physical activity can also have a significant positive impact on both our mental and social well-being. The benefits of regular exercise are endless and have been proven to help improve problem solving skills; reduce stress, anxiety, and depression; improve cognitive function; and increase the retention of new information. Despite the known benefits, the Journal of Activity and Health (2019) reported that only 16 percent of the UAE’s children meet the daily recommendation of physical activity, and the rate of child obesity in the country continues to rise. Therefore, our aim is to ensure that all children at WIS are keeping physically active and healthy. One initiative that aims to increase our community’s activity levels each year, is the Dubai Fitness Challenge. As we said now more than ever it is vital that students, parents and teachers are staying active, and it is always great to see the whole community come together to complete 30 minutes of exercise for 30 days. As a school our goal was to give every student the opportunity to complete 30 minutes of exercise per day for 30 consecutive days. Each or our PE team and our Wildcat Secondary and Primary Sports captains provided the students with additional challenges or ideas on how to complete their 30 minutes of exercise via our WIS Wildcats instagram page. To bring the Dubai Fitness Challenge for 2023 to a close our WIS students took part in a workout on the astro with The Physical Training Company instructors. During this event we also have a rowing competition as part of our Row to Cop 23, Hang Tough and some inter-house sports. As a school we are committed to ensuring that students understand the importance of participating in physical activity each day beyond the challenge, as this should be something that we all strive to do every day not just 30 days of the year! We would like to congratulate all the students, teachers and parents who took part in the Dubai 30x30 challenge and we look forward to next year’s event!
Fitness Challenge
GEMS WELLINGTON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL 48
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