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<p><strong>From staff reports</strong></p>
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<p>The Medical University of South Carolina’s Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness (BCCW) awarded Battery Creek High School with its 2021 Grand Prize Wellness Award on Wednesday, June 9 at the school.</p>
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<p>School administrators, wellness committee members, students, faculty and staff were present for the presentation by MUSC Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness program coordinator Magie Young.</p>
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<p>The MUSC BCCW School-Based Wellness Initiative engages schools and districts in creating a culture of wellness by utilizing the School Wellness Checklist, which serves as a guide to choose evidence-based wellness strategies and resources that meet the needs of a school community. Schools earn points based on the number of strategies and activities they implement, and are awarded funds based on the number of points earned.</p>
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<p>This is the first year BCSD partook in this initiative, with 15 schools participating. Coosa Elementary, Bluffton Middle, and Battery Creek High schools were named as top three finalists. Battery Creek High School was named Grand Prize Winner and will be awarded $1,000 (as well as an additional $1,000 for earning the most points in the district).</p>
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<p>The funds awarded will go to Battery Creek High School’s wellness committee to help support and expand future wellness initiatives.</p>
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<p>“Battery Creek High School had been working to create a culture of wellness even before they began participating in the initiative,” Young said in a release. “But through their participation in the initiative, Battery Creek High School has further embedded wellness into the day-to-day lives of students and staff which will have long-lasting positive impacts on both health and academic outcomes for their school community."</p>
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