Garcia Middle School students participate in Fuel Up to Play 60 program

Nearly 100 Garcia Middle School students have been involved in the Fuel Up to Play 60 wellness program this school year to better their health.

Students meet in the morning on the last Friday of the month to walk around the school's track. The school also works with the American Diabetes Association to be an Intervention School that will focus on improving the health of students.

As part of the program, students who are at-risk for diabetes visit nursing students from DeVry University twice a month to discuss nutrition and meet with the school nurse each week before or after school for 60 minutes of exercise.

The school has also formed a Faculty Buddies program in which teachers will meet with at-risk students for 10 minutes each week to review healthy eating and exercise habits.

"We are passionate about helping students lead healthy lives," Nellie Hartsell, the school nurse, stated in a release. "We are fortunate to have so many students who actually want to be involved in our healthy initiatives."