LuceCounty Extension
CountyBuilding, 407 West Harrie Street, Newberry, MI49868-1208 /
P: 906-293-3203 F: 906-293-3465
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October 2005
Tahquamenon Elementary joins Team Nutrition!In July, the Tahquamenon Area ElementarySchool jumped on board the Team Nutrition bandwagon.
Team Nutrition is an MSU Extension program aimed at improving school children’s nutrition and health using nutrition education and training of school food service professionals.
Newly appointed superintendent Roderick Martin and food services director Charlene Nalette joined without hesitation. MSU Extension partnered with the school to form a Team Nutrition committee to tackle the requirement for schools to implement a wellness policy.
Support came from school administration, staff members and agency partners including the hospital and health department. The school’s wellness policy was formulated and plans laid out for Team Nutrition events to take place throughout the year.
For the 2005-2006 school year students in kindergarten through fifth grades will take part in ACES (All Children Exercising Simultaneously). On May 3, 2006, schools registered to participate in ACES will simultaneously begin exercising at 10 a.m. for at least 10 minutes.
The hope is to have all classrooms staff, families and community members out on either the playground or football field to reinforce the important message of exercise. / A mileage club is also in the works for the academic year. Mile markers will be set up around the playground for children and adults to use
to keep track of their progress. Participants will earn small foot tokens for meeting certain mileage criteria. After several feet are collected, larger feet worth more miles may be earned.
The committee was enthusiastic about this program. Meg Hobbs, principal, asked about the barriers that may be encountered with the long winter season and what effect this may have on a year round walking program.
“If teachers are willing to keep track of their students’ individual miles and it seems to be going well, I would make sure that a path was made throughout the winter months and the school would provide the teachers with the feet tokens,” said Martin.
Changes within the school’s lunch program were put into place prior to the beginning of the school year. Nalette was given the authority to revamp the vending machine to help reinforce the Team Nutrition message of improving health by promoting healthy food choices.
Baked chips, trail mixes and fruit cups are among the healthier options now being offered. All whole grain products are now solely being offered. Also being used are new and innovative approaches to help increase the consumption of milk.
The committee will continue to seek out and implement ways in which to motivate children and their families to make healthy food choices.
Contact: Catarina Edison
/ Michigan State University Extension helps people improve their lives through an educational process that applies knowledge to critical issues, needs and opportunities. Offices in counties across the state link the research of the land-grant university, MSU, to challenges facingcommunities. Citizens serving on countyExtension councils regularly help select focus areas for programming. MSU Extension is funded jointly by county boards of commissioners,the state through MichiganStateUniversity and federally through the US Department of Agriculture. /
4-H counselor training helps prepare for camp
Now in its second year, the staffs of the Luce and Mackinac County 4-H offices conducted the Luce/Mackinac County 4-H Camp Counselor Training.On June 13, 16 adults and 10 teens gatheredfor an informational training session. They learned techniques for dealing with campers’ behavior, learned camp policies and went over “what if” scenarios.
One of the goals was to give the counselors the chance to bond before camp, which proved to be effective. Camp staffers appeared more comfortable with each other, which made camp more harmonious.
A WIGOOI (What I Got Out Of It) evaluation was completed after the program to gauge what participants learned. They were asked to complete such statements as:
- I learned that
- I realized that
- I discovered that
- I noticed that
- If I wanted to use what I just learned with my campers, one thing I would want to be absolutely sure to do would be
- Two or three things we’ve talked about that I want to be sure I do not forget are
- As a result of what we’ve just learned, the one or two specific things I’m going to do as soon I get to camp are
- “From this training I realized that I am going to be an integral part of the campers’ experience, and I want them to have a safe and enjoyable time.”
- “At this training, I discovered that this (camp) opportunity will be a growing and learning experience for me!”
Contact: Kirstin Nalette / Natural Helpers teaches listening skills
Natural Helpers is a Michigan 4-H peer-helping program for middle and high school students. It is based on the premise that within every school an informal “helping network” of students and school personnel exists.
Natural Helpersconsists of a survey process to identify this existing network. Those identified are invited to participate in a training to improve helping skills.
Newberry High School began a Natural Helper Program in November 2004. Twenty-four students, teachers and school staff members participated in the training, which consisted of three school days and monthly ongoing training meetings.
Participants took part in an in-depth survey of the training and results of that survey will beavailable soon. A survey of returning Natural Helpers was conducted in fall 2005.
The participants were asked what skills they developed or improved as a result of being a Natural Helper. Eighty five percent of those responding to the survey indicated they improved their listening skills, 77 percent listed the ability to recognize when friends need help and 69 percent indicated they improved their understanding, empathy and acceptance of others. More than two thirds (69 percent) also said they developed or improved their communication skills.
When asked what skills were the most valuable to them personally in their role as Natural Helpers and what skills were they still using with their friends, family, students/teachers and others, listening was the most common response followed by recognizing when someone needs help. Others included asking better questions and being confident in knowing how to help friends. Other written comments included:
- “Definitely listening… I listen much better now.”
- “I learned how to not always immediately offer advice, but to help someone come to their own conclusion.”
- “ I think that the idea of taking care of yourself first is very important”
- “Being able to ask better questions and reading signals better is most valuable to me.”
MSU is an affirmative-action, equal opportunity institution; Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, or family status. Issued in furtherance of MSU Extension work, acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Thomas G. Coon, Extension Director, MichiganStateUniversity, E. Lansing, MI 48824