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Friday, October 19, 2012

Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education

Growing Healthy Schools — Whole Child Education:


ASCD Whole Child Bloggers

Growing Healthy Schools

Growing Healthy Schools Week 2012
In addition to National Health Education Week, it is also the first annual Growing Healthy Schools Week in the District of Columbia. Growing Healthy Schools Week is organized by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Wellness & Nutrition Services in conjunction with the D.C. Farm to School Network at D.C. Greens and the D.C. Schoolyard Greening Committee at the D.C. Environmental Education Consortium (DCEEC).
Growing Healthy Schools Week celebrates school gardens and farm to school programs throughout the district. The aim is to encourage and showcase how schools are working with community organizations, farms, and chefs to coordinate inspiring activities aimed at engaging the broader community, increasing environmental literacy, building program capacity, and connecting students to their food. Resources, cafeteria recipes, and curriculum ideas are available online for all schools and communities to use, wherever they are located.
Also of interest are these presentations from our ASCD Whole Child Virtual Conference archive:
Smarter Lunchrooms: Food's Not Nutritious Until It's Eaten presented by Dr. Brian Wansink, Food and Brand Lab, Cornell University, N.Y.
Dr. Brian Wansink, author of the best-selling Mindless Eating, outlines simple steps that every school can take. See how you can improve your lunchroom and nutritional intake of students for less than $50.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program presented by Dr. Angela Tuck, Principal, Pottstown School District, Pa.
Hear a Healthy School Communities mentor site discuss how it implemented and then expanded a Fresh Fruit and Vegetables (FF&V) program. Tuck shares how she and her staff turned the idea into reality.
Healthy School Farm and Garden: LeConte Elementary School presented by Liliana Aguas, teacher and winner of the 2012 ASCD Outstanding Young Educator Award; Benjamin Goff, farm/garden specialist; and chef Kathy Russell, cooking and nutrition instructor, LeConte Elementary School, Berkeley, Calif.
Learn from Aguas, Goff, and Russell as they share the school's farm/garden and cooking programs and spotlight two schoolwide annual events: the Juiceathon and the Long Bean 400. These activities promote a healthy lifestyle and can be easily replicated at other schools.