Redwood City School District joined many school districts across the nation by celebrating National School Breakfast Week by organizing special events that promote healthy eating habits for their students. National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) was launched in 1989 to raise awareness of the availability of the School Breakfast Program to all children. For more information about school celebrations held across the country check the School Nutrition Association’s website.  

For the Redwood City School District, fostering a healthy school environment and reaching high student achievement is of utmost importance for teachers, administrators and parents. Earlier this week I met with Redwood City School District’s Food Service Director, registered dietitian Anna Lague. She shared with me how their schools planned to celebrate National School Breakfast Week. Students participated in Lucky Tray Day at breakfast, in which students who receive a tray marked with a special sticker receive a prize. This year students received a coloring book with crayons and stickers. Another popular event is the A-Z Salad Bar. At this event, students who participate in school lunch have the opportunity to see and taste 26 different fruits and vegetables. It is a fun time as the students really enjoy their favorite fruits and vegetables like watermelon and some are brave enough to try something new.

As a territory manager with the Dairy Council of California, I have been able to support Redwood City schools by providing nutrition education curriculum to elementary, middle and high school teachers. I am also a member of their district’s school wellness committee and have enjoyed being a part of their mission to create awareness and spark enthusiasm for health and wellness in their schools and community.

Check out our online educational game that teaches students how to eat a healthy breakfast, BreakFAST & Jump To It. Students build a healthy breakfast by selecting foods from a virtual kitchen to put on their breakfast plate. In addition, Dairy Council of California also offers this free downloadable handout, Parents…Get Straight A’s With a Healthy Breakfast which offers specific suggestions parent resources that encourage healthy breakfasts.

Let us know what your school is doing to celebrate National Nutrition Month or National School Breakfast Week in a healthy and fun way!

Nicolina Mulcahy,

Territory Manager

 

 

 

 

 

Almost 900 middle school teachers, administrators and facilitators attended the California League of Middle Schools annual conference on February 26-28th, 2010 in Sacramento.  The theme this year was, Accelerating Student Achievement in Tough Times. In spite of slightly lower conference attendance compared to last year, a current trend at conferences statewide due to budget cuts, the conference was a resounding success with excellent presentations and networking opportunities.  

Many positive and energetic teachers and administrators visited Dairy Council of California’s exhibit booth. What a pleasure it was to chat with loyal customers and meet principals and teachers, many of whom were eager to learn about our free nutrition education curricula and how it meets California content standards.

A Physical Education teacher from Cupertino Middle School, Judson Sickler, graciously joined me to co-present a nutrition education workshop. After first adapting the Dairy Council of California Exercise Your Options program to work with his sixth grade classes two years ago, Judson has successfully implemented his model of nutrition education in the entire sixth grade. The audience appreciated his practical strategies to engage students in making lifelong healthy choices. Check out his website, Mr Stickler's Physical Education Page. 

Dairy Council of California congratulates teachers like Judson and thousands of others who make nutrition education work in their classrooms. We are proud to provide teachers with free nutrition curricula and to encourage wellness in your schools and homes. Teachers, if you have adapted our programs in a creative way, please let us know. 

For extra support, contact your local territory manager or watch our free professional development training.

Tracy Witmer, R.D.
Territory Manager

The CTA Good Teaching Conference – North 2010 was held in Burlingame, CA, January 22-24.  Dairy Council of California was one of many wonderful exhibitors providing the latest resources to support excellent teaching and learning practices for classroom teachers.   The conference kicked off Friday evening with lively music, dancing and fine dining energizing over 800 attendees to stop by exhibits and attend workshop sessions until 9 pm.  Both Friday and Saturday we continuously greeted teachers enthusiastic about ordering our programs for the first time.  They appreciated the ease of ordering and the availability and convenience of our new online Teacher Training Certification Program which gives hands-on and practical implementation strategies for each grade level program.  This was also an opportunity for teachers already using our curriculum to re-order their student workbooks for their current class this year.  Their many positive comments and words of appreciation for our programs made the conference a particularly rewarding experience for us.  We look forward to attending the Good Teaching Conference – South 2010 in Los Angeles, CA, coming up March 12-14.

I recently attended and exhibited at the 28th Annual California Kindergarten Conference in Santa Clara, CA. There were exciting workshops throughout the weekend and exhibits especially designed for the early primary grades.  The theme of the conference was - Celebrating Creativity in Early Childhood Education.  They accomplished this beautifully with student artwork displayed throughout the conference hall and a special evening reception highlighting the Young Children's Art Exhibit.
 
Kindergarten teachers were very pleased to see Dairy Council of California in attendance and showcasing our Kindergarten nutrition education curriculum - Building a healthy me! Our booth display highlighted the components of our six-lesson, standards-aligned nutrition education program and activities such as creating Peter and Patsy Pyramid and The Old Lady who Swallowed a Cheeseburger. Both of these activities foster creativity and teach students the foundations of a healthy diet. Students color MyPyramid learning the colors associated with each food group. Kindergarten students are introduced to the importance of physical activity, what a healthy breakfast is and learning how to create a combination meal.
 
Teachers commented on how much they appreciated the availability of the free program and how much their students and parents enjoyed it. They also appreciated the parent newsletter available in English and Spanish included in the program kit.
 
In the Educators section of this website, you can learn more about how to receive the Kindergarten program and/or participate in a 30 minute online teacher training that provides success tips for teaching nutrition in a kindergarten classroom.
 
Nicolina Mulcahy
Territory Manager

One guest said, “This is the best school wellness meeting I have ever attended!” An elegant lunch and meeting hosted by the Dairy Council of California was held in December at Pacifica Del Mar for school staff specializing in school wellness. Dairy Council Territory Managers, Tracy Conkey and Heather Troska coordinated the event to support and maintain momentum for school wellness. They invited student wellness advocates and leaders throughout each of their school districts to share resources and best practices. Tracy’s vision for the event was to break down the silos she sees in school districts and give those with the same mission to improve student health an opportunity to share successes, failures, tips and resources. Here is a short interview I had with Tracy about the event:

NM: Who attended this great event?
TC: We were so pleased with the turnout.  Eight different school districts were represented: San Diego Unified, Chula Vista, Escondido, Bonsall, Valley Center, San Marcos, Vista and Oceanside.  Guests included: Deirdre Kleske from California Project Lean; Heather Reed from California Department of Education; food service directors and supervisors, child nutrition consultants, district nurses, principals, nutrition educators, P.E. and classroom teachers. 

NM: What was your favorite part of the event?
TC: I loved it all. I really enjoyed seeing everyone sharing their resources with such enthusiasm. We asked participants to bring at least one resource to share with the group. I enjoyed learning about promising practices, sample school wellness policies, parent resources and student participation tips. Herbie Smith and Amy from Vista Unified School District shared the success they have had with “Wellness Weeks.” I especially enjoyed learning how school districts use the Dairy Council of California materials in creative ways that benefits students.

NM: I have to ask will there be another event like this one?
TC: Yes! In fact, I am thinking of hosting a similar gathering this spring for school districts in Orange County and other nearby districts that would like to attend.

NM: I just have one more question! What is your favorite program or lesson from Dairy Council’s nutrition education curriculum?
TC: Uhhhh…I can’t just choose one! My two favorites are “The Old Lady that Swallowed the Cheeseburger” from our Kindergarten, Building a healthy me program and “Lunch at the Mall” from our middle school, Exercise Your Options program.

For more information on how your regional Dairy Council Territory Manager can help support wellness at your school, please contact us by phone, 877.324.7901, email or comment on this blog.

On October 22nd– 24th, the California Teachers Association organized the California Science Education Conference, which was held at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Science teachers traveled from as far as San Diego and Los Angeles to participate in workshops and short courses, as well as network with colleagues and shop for education materials from various vendors.

While perusing the booths in the exhibit hall, teachers came by our booth to learn about and order our free, scientifically sound nutrition materials that support school wellness policies. During our three-day visit, we enjoyed meeting the large number of teachers that came by the booth. Many teachers that visited had already ordered materials, but stopped to chat about our Mobile Dairy Classroom assembly or simply just to let us know how much they enjoy implementing our nutrition programs in the classroom. Other teachers just yelled, “Great programs!” as they passed by the booth.

In addition to displaying our programs, the exhibit included a Sugar and Fat display, which made many Science teachers realize how much fat and sugar they consume on a day-to-day basis. We also brought our nutrition education wheel, which helps educate on the importance of a balanced diet and physical activity.  

On October 24th, Candice Sainz-Lau presented the workshop Making a Difference: Healthier Achievement Through Nutrition Education. At the workshop, teachers learned that students who make healthy eating choices perform better in the classroom. Science teachers also learned that Dairy Council of California supports academic achievement by providing materials that are aligned to education standards and school wellness policies. They also had the opportunity to view the new e-teacher training module that demonstrates success strategies for implementing nutrition education in the classroom. As a result, teachers expressed confidence with teaching the materials in the classroom.

 

The Mobile Dairy Classroom and instructor Steve Miller were featured in the Orange County Register on Thursday October 15, highlighting the assembly at Key Elementary School in Anaheim. The assembly teaches students about milk and milk products and how they fit into a healthy diet. Steve Miller is one of six full-time instructors that provide the assembly 10 months per year.

Featured during the presentation at Key Elementary was Jasmine, a 900-pound Jersey heifer. Miller points out the features of the cow’s anatomy and animal science. Miller shared the following cow facts.
A cow:

• produces up to 120 pounds or 12 gallons of milk each day
• is milked twice a day
• has 13 ribs on each side
• eats 35 pounds of hay per day
• has an average body temperature of 101.3 degrees
• produces milk that comes out at 100 degrees

And what about the big green ID tag attached to Jasmine’s ear? “That’s cow bling,” Miller joked.

Michael Saravia, Vice Principal at Key Elementary, said most of their students were either born outside of the country and/or are learning English as a second language. Most have never been to a farm or dairy. “This brings something to our students that they wouldn’t usually have access to,” Saravia said. “It brings lessons they have learned in the classroom to life.”

The Mobile Dairy Classroom will be visiting schools throughout Orange County for the remainder of the school year.

Orange County Register writer: ecarpenter@ocregister.com

 

October 15, 2009 was Walk-to-School Day. Mariposa Elementary students in Mariposa, CA, celebrated their 4th Annual Walk-to-School Day event coordinated by one of my co-workers at Dairy Council—Alyssa McClelland, Territory Manager for Fresno County. Since several elementary school teachers in the North Bay area asked me for ideas regarding Walk-to-School Day, I interviewed Alyssa in order to share her experience in planning and running a fun, healthy and successful Walk-to-School Day event.    

NM: What are some of the basic components needed to run a successful Walk-to-School Day event? How did you do it?

AM: Building both community and school support is very important to ensure a successful event. For the Mariposa event, we met at a local grocery store's parking lot and the children walked together from the parking lot to school. The grocery store generously supplied the walkers apples and water bottles. For our event, we also enlisted the help of the the California Highway Patrol in Mariposa County to provide an escort while the students “walk to school.” In Mariposa there are no sidewalks or paths for the students to follow on their way to school, so this provided a safe way for students to get to school. 

NM: Is there a nutrition-education component to the event that day or celebrated that week? 

AM: Yes! In fact, all the teachers at Mariposa Elementary use Dairy Council of California's nutrition-education curriculum and love it. The school offered an extended breakfast that morning and I also decided to give a smoothie party as an incentive for the top two classes that participated in the Walk-to-School Day event. The students really enjoyed that!

NM: What is the feedback you have heard from teachers and parents about the event?

AM: They loved it! They thought it was a great way to build awareness about overall health. This year our County Hospital was at the event, providing information to all those participating.  

NM: Last question—what is your favorite nutrition lesson from our curriculum?

AM: My favorite lesson is “Lunch at the Mall," from our middle school program, Exercise Your Options.

NM: Thank you, Alyssa. What you have done for the students at Mariposa Elementary is wonderful and something they will always remember, I’m sure. 

For more information on how your regional Dairy Council Territory Manager can help support wellness at your school, please contact us by phone, 877.324.7901, email or comment on this blog. Happy walking!

Nicolina Mulcahy

Territory Manager

The 2009 School Wellness Conference, held in Anaheim, California on October 6 and 7, was organized by the California School Boards Association, the California Department of Education and the California Department of Public Health. The conference was well attended, especially given the budget limitations throughout the state. Attendees included educators, health care professionals, politicians and community representatives from California as well as other states. Session highlights included the direct relationship of critical health issues to academic achievement, a coordinated school-health approach to successful learning and the importance of school and community collaboration in order to foster healthy students.

As a sponsor for this event, Dairy Council of California recognizes the value of combating childhood obesity and supports districts with their local wellness-policy efforts. Dairy Council of California was actively involved in the pre-conference event, Finding Common Ground: Collaborating to Prevent Childhood Obesity, which addressed strategies for overcoming key barriers to collaborating about nutrition and physical activity, shared use of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities and safe routes to school. We also had the opportunity to host an in-depth session highlighting our new Teacher Training Module. The new module was very favorably received by the conference attendees and is available on this website.

It was fun and rewarding to hear appreciative comments and enthusiasm from so many teachers who currently use our programs and came to visit us at our booth. We also received inquires from new contacts that would like to place orders, ranging from pre-kindergarten to high school and our parent education programs. Many districts expressed interest in partnering with us to work on their Wellness Policy Councils. Overall, this was a successful conference for learning, sharing and building relationships.

 

The School Wellness Conference was held October 6 and 7 in Anaheim, CA. Dr. John Ratey, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, was a featured speaker. He explained how brain-derived neurotophic factor, or BDNF, promotes the growth of new brain cells, allowing the brain to grow and learn better.

What increases BDNF levels in the brain? Exercise, of course. The average adult sits in front of some sort of screen 9.5 hours per day and children are spending 5.5 hours a day, leaving limited time for physical activity. Emerging research shows that physical activity sparks biological changes that encourage brain cells to bind to one another. For the brain to learn, these connections must be made. The more neuroscientists discover about this process, the clearer it becomes that exercise creates an environment in which the brain is ready, willing and able to learn. 

Naperville Central High School in Chicago implemented a program called Zero Hour PE. The objective of the program was to determine whether working out before school gives students a boost in reading ability and increased skills in additional subjects. Students were taught how to monitor and maintain their own health and fitness. Results indicate that learning was enhanced when preceded by exercise. Students involved in the program demonstrated a 17 percent improvement in reading and comprehension.

The benefits of physical activity are extremely valuable for both children and adults. Our bodies are designed to be active, which leads to optimum brain development. The handout, Child's Play: The Foundation of Good Health, is written for teachers, school administrators and parents. It describes the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and includes actionable ideas to include more physical activity at school.

Thank you for reading this blog—now it’s time to get moving!

Sarah Mathot, M.S., R.D.

Schools Supervisor, Southern California