District holds Interactive Day of Learning

An exciting announcement came Tuesday for Morris Public Schools, as Morris Elementary School was named as one of America’s Healthiest Schools for 2023.

A special assembly was held in the elementary gymnasium with students awaiting the news.

Counselor Kelly Baker and P.E. teacher Whitney Tucker has worked for several years on the program from Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

America’s Healthiest Schools is Healthier Generation’s prestigious annual recognition program that honors schools for implementing best practices to support the physical, mental, and social-emotional health needs of the learning community.

Awardees must meet criteria in the Thriving Schools Integrated Assessment, an evidence-informed tool that helps schools identify strengths and opportunities for improving policies and practices to advance health and learning with an integrated approach.

Morris Elementary was one of 781 schools in 36 states to receive the honor for 2023, and is the only school in Oklahoma to receive the award in three topics.

Tucker and Baker said Principal Becky Alexander has allowed them to come together to help make sure their kids are doing well as a whole. They’ve built an outdoor classroom, created interactive learning environments, and dinners for their entire school and families.

“When we started, it really was focusing on bringing our families together, spending quality time, meaningful time together and providing an opportunity for our students in our families, to really learn new ways to enjoy each other with healthy habits,” Baker said.

To further show how important being healthy is, the school, along with numerous sponsors, provided a day of interactive learning and hands-on events.

The 2023 Morris Elementary Interactive Day of Learning Sponsors were:

• Fleecy Friends Alpacas

• Checotah Branch – Eastern Oklahoma District Library System

• Euchee Butterfly Farm

• Ms. Mary’s Market, Okmulgee

• Muscogee Nation Health Department

• Preston Pirates Performance Jump Rope Team

• Morris First Baptist Church • Morris United Methodist Church

• Bounce Smart

• Mother’s Tucker BBQ A big thanks went out to Checotah Schools for allowing MES to use their inflatable planetarium for students to tour.