Dalton Local Schools celebrates wellness with districtwide Apple Day event

Dalton Local Schools came together Tuesday, Oct. 21. Soaking up the warm sunshine while eating an apple treat, all students in kindergarten through high school were divided into multi-age groups to play games in the stadium.

Audrey Zuercher, the new wellness and nutrition coordinator, organized the day.

“With the music playing over the sound system and the sun shining brightly, the atmosphere was full of energy and smiles," Zuercher said. "It was great to see the older kids leading and connecting with the younger ones. Looking out from the press box, groups spread out on the track and on the field and were enjoying building relationships, getting some exercise and building good wellness habits."

Zuercher said that at the school she previously worked at, they had a similar event at the high school.

“As nutrition coordinator I saw some information about the Apple Crunch Day in some of my communications from the state, and I thought we could do something pretty special at a district like Dalton, so the planning process began," Zuercher said. "What started as a crazy idea to include all students became reality with the help and support of the Dalton administrative team."

Supported by Ohio State as a way to connect with others and learn about local foods, the Great Apple Crunch is an event where people get together, buy local apples and bite into them at the same time.

It was communicated to the students the day before that there was going to be an Apple Day the next day, but they left it a surprise as to what exactly Apple Day was. In the end they got a break from school to get some fresh air, exercise and meet students of different ages.

As they walked into the stadium, students could get some apple slices from the middle school Aultman Ambassador group. Apples were purchased at a discounted rate from Sunny Slope Orchard, and apple packets were donated by McDonald's in Orrville.

Dalton Local Schools would like this to become an annual event.

“Now that we know we can do something like this, maybe we will do another event like this in the spring," Zuercher said. "Stay tuned. For the first time, I was extremely pleased."

“Our high-schoolers did a tremendous job of guiding our young people,” Dalton High School Principal Zach McFarren said. “It was great to see the community that is Dalton Local Schools.”