Eating Healthily

Mandoulides Schools, being a well-rounded educational institution, have the responsibility to not only ensure the mental edification of students but also their proper physical development and health.

Children need a diet rich in foods of high nutritional value in order to cover their bodies’ need for growth and health.

In the duration of their school life, children go through periods of explosive growth, which coincide with the development of physical and mental functions, due to their involvement in school and extracurricular activities. Thus, a significant part of their needs in energy and nutritional value must be covered while they are at school.

The fast paced life of families nowadays, after all, often renders the establishment of a healthy diet difficult.

Mandoulides Schools, in a continuing effort to educate their students and increase awareness for parents as far as following a healthy diet is concerned, have been implementing the program “Eating healthily at Mandoulides Schools.”

We are thrilled to announce that we are taking part in the new educational project “Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut” which is an international educational challenge, focusing on fitness and nutrition, that encourages students to train like an astronaut. Overseen by ESERO-UK, the program is supported by the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency, and forms part of the program “Eating healthily at Mandoulides Schools”.

The program has already been completed by Kindergarten students and all Elementary School grades will take part in it too from March to the end of the school year. During the program, certain actions will be implemented according to the children’s age maturity and background knowledge.

Developed in cooperation with space scientists and fitness professionals working directly with astronauts, NASA's Train Like an Astronaut activities are a physical and inquiry-based approach to human health and fitness on Earth and in space. During the pioneering Mission X challenge our students will be participating in physical activities modelled after the real-life physical requirements of humans travelling in space.

Thus, our students, depending on their grade, will take part in the following actions:

• What’s your space height (calculation of space weight and height)
• Energy of an astronaut (compilation of natural food lists that can guarantee the energy an astronaut needs)
• Reduced gravity, Low fat (distinguishing the harmful fat ingredients included in food products we consume every day)
• Taste in space (drawing a diagram of the human tongue, demonstrating how different senses can affect our taste)

What is more, our students will be involved in the following fitness activities:

• Agility astro course
• Base station walkback
• Build an astronaut core
• Explore and discover
• Do a spacewalk
• Climb a Martian mountain
• Crew training
• Jump for the moon

Through this adventurous journey to the amazing world of space, students will not only be informed about fitness and healthy eating, but they will also be able to become the next generation of fitness explorers.

Overseen by ESERO-UK, the program is supported by the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency.