LYFORD — Thanks to the Dallas Cowboys, students here will soon feel more refreshed.
The Lyford school district will use a $3,000 grant from the Gene and Jerry Jones Family Foundation to fund two water bottle refilling stations at the high school.
“It will increase accessibility to water every day,” Bibiana Bernal, the school nurse who applied for the grant, said yesterday. “It’s going to increase hydration of students and staff.”
Now, many students are not drinking enough water, Bernal said.
So some students complain of dizziness and headaches.
“Lack of adequate hydration can cause problems,” Bernal said. “Water regulates body temperature. It gets so hot in the Valley. That’s an important factor.”
Bernal said she recommends most people drink six to eight 8-ounze-glasses of water a day, depending on their activity levels.
“The brain is 75-percent water,” she said. “That’s a big deal in an educational setting.”
At the school’s water fountains, some do not like the water.
“They always complain about the taste,” she said, adding inspections found the water’s quality is good.
Bernal also said students who drink from water fountains usually do not drink enough water. “If you think about it, every time you go to a water fountain they get one or two sips,” she said. “That’s one reason they don’t hydrate as much as they should.” Meanwhile, the district’s vending machines sell water bottles for $1 in this farming community where many families live below the poverty level.
So many students cannot afford to buy water, she said. “A dollar for some kids is not going to happen,” she said. “A dollar a bottle adds up.” While one water station is expected to be located in the high school building, Bernal said the other will likely be installed in the high school annex or gymnasium.
Bernal said a filtration system makes the water taste good.
The water stations are expected to be installed in August or September, she said.
