2026 MOSHAPE Kaleidoscope of Kindness

Jessica Kassel, registered dietitian and nutrition educator with the St. Louis District Dairy Council, will explore the basic nutrition needs of adolescent athletes and how including dairy in the athlete's eating plan can help with recovery and hydration. She will also discuss Dairy Up!, an SLDDC grant program that helps coaches provide dairy foods for athlete recovery after games and practices.

We don't expect athletes to master a physical skill without practice, so why do we expect them to automatically master focus and resilience? This session challenges the traditional, physical-only approach to training. Coaches will discover how to intentionally integrate the mental game into their current regimens, backed by real-world examples and actionable session blueprints used successfully with athletes.

With youth mental health challenges at an all-time high, the need for effective, skills-based education is urgent. This session will explore Erika’s Lighthouse free, turnkey, K-12th-grade programs designed to empower students, reduce stigma, and provide universal depression and suicide prevention education.
In this interactive session, we will explore the successes and challenges of implementing this curriculum across various grade levels, including an exciting first look at our newest expansion: the K-3rd-grade curriculum. You will learn how universal mental health education promotes early identification, encourages student help-seeking, and fosters life-saving conversations.

Join members as they describe their recent SHAPEAmerica Speak Out Day experiences and learn how you can use free, packaged toolkits and resources to ‘speak out’ for Quality Health and Physical Education every day. Advocacy Committee members will also provide updates on state legislation affecting Health and Physical Education.

This round table discussion is for all department chairs, lead teachers, district admin, etc. Anyone that serves in an HPE (Health and Phys Ed.) leadership position for their school or district. Let's chat about current challenges, successes, and new things coming down the pipeline. This is a great place to network and meet others in similar positions as you from around the state.

Participants will
* Learn about the newly adopted standards
* Review how standards align with the Missouri Show-Me Standards for K-12 youth
* Identify new resources on DESE’s updated Health & PE standards web pages