Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports (PBIS) is utilized to teach and affirm positive adult and student behavior as part of the larger Wish School culture and climate. Wish Students accumulate PAWS as a reward and affirmation for their positive behaviors.
PAWS
P - Practice Kindness
A - Always Be Respectful
W - Work Hard
S - Stay Safe
UConn HNS, as an aligned and contributing partner @ Wish School, integrates PBIS and PAWS within all educational programs and school-wide collaborations. UConn HNS staff also serve as the lead facilitators for “Thriving Thursdays” which operates as a rotation of school-wide initiatives that occurs every Thursday to celebrate different Wish School stakeholders through investments such as Staff Appreciation, PBIS School Store, Classroom Recesses, Classroom Snacks, and more.
"Lunch Bunch - Focus Groups" is offered once per month during “Thriving Thursday” with a sample size (10-15) of Wish School Students that spend 15 minutes during their lunch time with UConn HNS Staff to hangout, have fun, share food, and engage in a focus group conversation.
Students
On this UConn HNS “Thriving Thursday” @ Wish School, we were able to engage with students during “Lunch Bunch – Focus Groups” to hear students’ feedback on their learning and experiences regarding: Cycle Two of UConn HNS Programs
Cycle Two Overview
| HNS Pillars | Cycle Theme | Teaching Emphasis – “Memorable Motto” |
| Nutrition Education | Dairy | “Strong Teeth - Strong Bones” |
| Physical Activity | Track & Field | “Fun to Jump - Fun to Run” |
| Transferable Life Skill | Wish Core Values | “Practice Kindness” |
Student Engagement
On 11/06, Wish School Students in grades 3rd, 4th, 5th joined with UConn HNS staff to share in fun, eating, and conversation.
10 Wish School Students
2 Focus Groups - 5 students per group
3 UConn HNS Staff - 2 conversational facilitators; 1 note-taker
Nutrition Education
Rate the Snack: Strawberry S’mores
- 9/10 students gave this snack a perfect score, varying from Infinity/10; 1 billion/10; 100/10, and 10/10. One student said the snack was just “good”
- No changes were suggested for the recipe, yet a few students did suggest adding more chocolate, marshmallows, and ice cream...so our work continues...
One Important Thing You Learned: Dairy Section of the MyPlate
- 3/10 students specifically mentioned dairy to help “Strong Teeth”
- 3/10 students specifically mentioned dairy to help “Strong Bones”
- 5/10 students listed specific examples of dairy such as milk and yogurt
- 10/10 students mentioned Dairy to help general health and strength
Physical Activity
Rate the Activities: Tic-Tac-Toe Relay Race, Long Jump Competition, Olympic Obstacle Course
- 10/10 students really enjoyed Tic-Tac-Toe, pointing to “being familiar with the game” and with this life-sized version “getting to run and place the bean bag on the X/O”
- Many of the students shared very high ratings including 1million/10, 100/10, 10/10 about the Long Jump Competition and the Olympic Obstacle Course. Affirmations included mostly a “love for running and jumping”
- At the same time students shared mixed reviews for the Long Jump Competition and Olympic Obstacle, with some ratings as low as 5/10, 7/10, and even a 6/7 rating (which we are pretty sure means both nothing and everything all at the same time, but we definitely know in this case it indicated a very "meh" rating).
- Suggestions included “more hurdles”, a desire to “run laps on a track”, “make the obstacle course less difficult”, “change obstacle course = too hard”, and “please change everything about the obstacle course”.
One Important Thing You Learned
- 4/10 students connected with learning more about “Jumping”
- 6/10 students connected with learning more about “Running”
- 9/10 students listed specific examples of learning about Track & Field including “jumping over hurdles”, “passing the baton”, “getting faster as you run more”, and “it’s definitely an exercise”
School to Family Transfer?
UConn HNS works as part of Wish School. In doing so we also work alongside students and their families. We most certainly hope that student learning and behaviors connected with Nutrition Education and Physical Activity are transferring from school to family life. When students were asked about these transfers during this "Lunch Bunch - Focus Group", limited transfers were shared. The work continues...
- 3/10 students shared that nothing from Cycle Two has been connected back to their family
- 2 students mentioned that they "discussed Track & Field" with their families
- 2 students mentioned healthy snacks transferring from school to family:
- One student “wants to” make the Yogurt Parfait with their family
- One student “tried the trail mix snack with my Mom” following the Wish School field trip to UConn on 10/30/25, which is a different event yet we are here to celebrate the School to Family Transfer!