Inspired by the Farm to School Program and the RES Health Team

I am constantly grateful for the connections and resources that are provided to RES students by the Farm to School Program and the RES Comprehensive Health Team.  In the last few weeks, several projects have reinforced for me all of the great work everyone is doing---volunteering above and beyond to make our school a better place for kids to learn and grow!

As a member of the FOCUS team (Families, Community and School Focusing on Student Success) I participated in the planning of the recent RES Family Movie night. This was a well attended event with over one hundred community members crowding the gym to watch a movie on a cold January evening! The Farm to School program became involved in this night when they suggested that we locally source the popcorn kernels that we would use.  Several people worked to get them to school in time for the show and they were great!  I had the pleasure of announcing this local food connection to the packed house and received a giant round of applause! I of course could not take credit.....but I was thankful.

Next, I am very enthusiastic about the work that has been done by these groups to acquire a cooking cart for RES students to use! Over the course of the next few weeks I have signed up to get many of the classes in school engaged with the new cart and I am very excited!  In a few weeks we will be cooking with all the kindergarten classes--and Farm to School has facilitated having local chefs there for this first introduction!!!  On Monday one of my second grade classes used some class time to explore the cart, and next week they will work with Karyl Kent to make a movie to describe the great possibilities for its' use!

Finally, after a meeting with Amy Gifford, F to S Coordinator, and a survey put out by the Comprehensive Health Team, I was really inspired to think about movement in my classroom.  I often feel very schedule driven, and fear movement as a significant loss of time......but conversations with these great school resources has made me reexamine this fear.  On Wednesday I responded to their input and tried a 3 minute movement break with a fourth grade class.  It was fabulous! And students were able to move and then engage in learning tasks immediately after the 'break'. 

I am very thankful for this team of people who has a constant eye on the health and well being of our school and their unending support of students.