Welcome to the Health and Safety Website for the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District!
On this website you will find: the district’s health and wellness policy, district-wide safety plan, general health information, articles from various sources concerning student, teacher/staff, and parent health, healthy and tasty recipes, and podcasts from the CDC.
The Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District is committed to providing a school environment that promotes and protects children health, well-being, and the ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and physical activity.
This website is an extension of the commitment to provide a healthy school environment for everyone involved with the Highland Falls-Fort Montgomery Central School District (i.e. students, teachers, staff, and parents).
We would like to let everyone know that the District Custodial & Maintenance Staff has taken all necessary precautions to ensure a healthy environment for our students and staff.
Parent Emergency Guide
FEMA Interactive Web-Based Course: IS-907 - Active Shooter: What You Can Do
General Health Information
District Health Form
Communicable Disease School Guide
Prevent Lead-based Paint Poisoning in Your Pre-1978 Home
Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students
The Office for Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education's updated pamphlet on Supporting the Academic Success of Pregnant and Parenting Students Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
The Nemours Foundation-Kids Health
The Nemours Foundation has an excellent website called kidshealth.org. The website provides excellent health information, which is reviewed by different allied health professionals. The health information is not technical and is easy to understand. Kidshealth.org has three sections: parents, kids, and teens. Below are the links to the different websites.
http://kidshealth.org/parent/
http://kidshealth.org/kid/
http://kidshealth.org/teen/
National Alliance for Nutrition & Activity (NANA)
National School Nutrition Fact Sheet
Sports Drinks in School
School Food Funding Myths
Healthy School Fundraising Fact Sheet
Fundraising Ideas Fact Sheet
Current Events
Welcome to the current events section. In this section current health events as well as interesting articles will be posted in PDF format. The news stories will contain information that is relevant to the health of the students, parents, teachers, and staff members.
The majority of these news stories come from the New York Times. All of these articles can be found on the New York Times health section on the their website. The link to this site is below:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.html
Recently, The House GOP voted to start the repeal of recent Affordable Health Care for America Act. Below is
House GOP repeals Health Care Law
Below is an article from the NY Times the does a good job of explaining where the Health Care law is legislatively, and what can be done cooperatively to enact positive change
Clarity over Health Care Law
The Senate has rejected the Health Care Law repeal that was passed by the House. Below is a article that explains how this happened. Please click on the link below to reach the article.
Senate Rejects Health Care Law Repeal
The FDA and Dairy Industry are currently arguing over a milk testing policy the FDA has created. The testing has been proposed because of the possibility of antibiotics becoming prevalent in the nation's milk supply. Below is a link to the article.
FDA and Dairy Industry Battle Over Milk Testing Policy
The National Institutes of Health Undiscovered Disease Program have discovered their first new disease. The program has an interesting take on their purpose, which is to study rare diseases to find new insights into common diseases. Also, the program provides a service to those who are forgotten in the medical community. Below is the link to the article.
Disease Detectives Discover New Disease
The Health Care Law is still making its way through our judicial system. Below is a transcript that provides insight in to the current situation of the health care law.
Update on the Health Care Law
Disaster Management and Public Health Preparedness is important. The terrible natural disaster and the ongoing nuclear plant problems in Japan demonstrated the importance of disaster management and public health preparedness and how it saves lives.
Public Health Preparedness in Japan
Pre-existing health conditions can cover a wide range of medical conditions/diseases (as simple as asthma and all the way up to a kidney transplant). The new health care law helps provide coverage for theses individuals. Below is a story on the benefits of this law and how to go about finiding a PCIP (pre-existing insurance plan) if you fall into this category.
Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plans (PCIP's)
Health and Wellness (Articles)
In this section, articles will be posted focusing on different interesting aspects of health and wellness.
The majority of these wellness articles come from the New York Times. All of these articles can be found on the New York Times health section on the New York Times website. The link to this site is below:
http://www.nytimes.com/pages/health/index.html
An interesting article on teaching children to cook. Please click the link below.
Teach a Child to Cook and Help Him or Her for Life
Calcium and Vitamin D are a hot topic in the world of health. There are many questions like: How much should I consume? Do I need a supplement? Do my kids need a supplement? The New York Times has an interesting article on the "Long and Short Calcium and Vitamin D". The article does a great job summarizing the concerns about calcium and vitamin D and can be found below.
Long and Short of Calcium and Vitamin D
The Times Herald Record published an interesting article on the effects of social networks (or friends) and a person's weight. The article explains how a person's friends can affect that individual's weight. It is an interesting article and poses an interesting solution to this newly studied problem. Below is a link to the article.
Can Your Friends Make You Thin or Overweight?
Emotional and mental health can be a serious issue for many people. The New York Times published an interesting news article on the emotional and mental health of college freshmen. The article speculates about the causes of the rise in emotional and mental health issues documented. Also, the article states that these issues are present before the students enter college. So, paying attention to one's emotional and mental health is important to achieve a high level of overall health. Below is the link to the article.
A Rise of Emotional and Mental Health Issues Seen in College Freshman
Following up on the mental health article above is this article on how meditation can possibly change an individual's brain functioning for the better. A link to the article is below.
How Meditation Can Affect The Brain
Peer Pressure is something that is not well understood. Why is it that teenagers do things in groups they would not do by themselves? The article below summarizes a recent research article on teen driving and peer pressure done my Temple University researchers. Below is the link for the article.
Teen Driving and Peer Pressure
New York winters can be tough on the back. Below is a helpful article on how to save your back from Winter.
How to Save Your Back From Winter
If you never start, you never have to quit is an interesting slogan in relation to tobacco usage. The NY Times published an interesting article on tobacco usage and its complexities. Below is the link to the article.
Don't Start, You Won't Have to Quit
Our comfort zone is an interesting psychological term, which has been coined in popular culture. As human beings, we like to be comfortable, and having a routine can reduce anxiety, but we also need to be productive and experience new things or activities. Below is an interesting article on the "comfort zone"
The Comfort Zone
Bullying is a major issue in the social landscape of many school districts. The New York Times published an interesting summary article on some new and exciting research in regards to bullying.
Bullying and The Social Fabric of Schools
Do you treat yourself as nicely as you treat others? Self-Compassion is a new area of psychological research. Below is an interesting article on self-compassion and the importance it may play in living a healthy life.
Self-Compassion
Optimism is an important positive trait that can keep individuals going when all hope seems lost. However, can optimism be detrimental? Below is an article about the possible detrimental effects of optimism.
Optimism, A Bad Thing?
Health and Wellness (Podcasts)
This section will contain various podcasts on health and wellness topics that are important to the district's health and wellness.
February is American Heart Month. Heart health is extremely important. The CDC has an informative podcast on the topic of heart health and how to live a heart-healthy life.
Heart Health
Developing healthy behaviors is a process that begins in high school for many individuals. The CDC created a two-part podcast detailing the types of behaviors high school students are involved with and how they are linked to the leading causes of death in the United States.
Developing Healthy Behaviors Part 1
Developing Healthy Behaviors Part 2
Diabetes is a scary disease that can be difficult to manage. Here is a CDC video about diabetes and blood sugar.
Blood Sugar and Diabetes
