Thursday, November 1, 2007

Let's Do Lunch...and RECESS...Healthy and Safe

The November Hamden PTA Council meeting (Thursday, November 8th at 7:00pm, in the Hamden Middle School Cafeteria) will feature a discussion of Hamden’s New Student Nutrition and Physical Activity (Wellness) Policy.

Our special guest will be Jeanne Cooper, Director of Physical Education, Health and Athletics for Hamden Public Schools and Chair of Hamden's Wellness Council. She will present Hamden's new SEVEN page comprehensive Student Wellness Policy and answer your questions. (Hamden's previous wellness plan was only one paragraph!)

"The Hamden Board of Education recognizes there is a clear link between our students' health and their ability to learn." (Jeanne Cooper & Cheryl Townsend, 2006/2007 Co-chairs of Hamden's Wellness Council)

The new policy was developed with input from educators, parents, and the medical and health care community and includes significant changes to:
  • School Meals
  • Nutrition Education
  • Physical Education
  • Recess
  • Extracurricular Activities
  • School Vending Machines
  • School Fund-Raisers
  • School Functions
  • Classroom Celebrations & Rewards (Yes, we’re talking cupcakes!)
The Hamden PTA Council invites all parents and members of our educational community to come and learn how we can work with our schools to help our kids stay healthy.

We will also be discussing a related topic – lunch aides – to see if we can help HPS/BOE come up with a comprehensive solution to this important safety issue.

Representation from each school is imperative to getting a full perspective on what’s working and what is not. If you are a lunch aide, we encourage you to attend and share your first hand knowledge.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

ALL Princepals need to start enforcing that k-6 are required to have at least 20 mins/day of physical activity. There are lunch aides that take away 5 or more minutes of recess (what gives them that power?) b/c they don't know how else to punish them and teachers that take it away as well. What about when they watch movies at recess? This policy needs to firm and followed by all schools. Will it take a parent going above & beyond the Bd of Ed when thier child is constantly losing recess? Why wait till that situation occurs? Fix it NOW!