Levack Leopards test

In the past, Levack Public School has had a cafeteria with less healthy food options, like pizza, for sale. This year the unhealthy options are gone. In its place are healthy food alternatives that students can order to help fundraise for the school. Thanks to our parent council we have veggie packed whole-wheat sandwiches for sale. Students can also choose from low-fat protein options like turkey, and low-sodium sauces like mustard. This menu change is exactly what Levack Leopards need to keep energized throughout the day! Thanks parent council!

Rather than selling chocolate bars or candy, grade 7 and 8 students have switched to fundraising using a healthier food option: popcorn! This healthy snack meets all of the provincial healthy schools guidelines. Students discussed the benefits of this low sugar, low sodium option. They recognized that pre-packaged, high sugar foods are full of “empty calories,” leaving them with a short spurt of energy that fades quickly, but no nutrients to give them the energy they need for the day. The class has been selling it every Friday afternoon. Thanks to Landen, Katryna, Marshall, and James who have been our healthy snack sales!

Grade 6/7/8 students love solving puzzles! We have a weekly problem-solving challenge. Normally, the students receive a donut if they correctly solve the puzzle. This week students brainstormed to come up with other healthier prizes that they can win instead. Students decided that mechanical pencils and notepads were an equally worthy, and healthier, alternative. Marshall, Josh, Tyler, and Katryna are our most recent winners. Way to go!

Throughout the month of December, in support of the Kids Helping Kids Food Drive, students collected non-perishable food items for “Falls Food” in Onaping Falls. Students exceeded their goal to brought to school more than 1,000 food items so one of the teaching staff is honouring his promise to be duct taped to the cafeteria wall on Friday, December 22! Great school/community spirit, Levack Public School!

Students in Grade 7/8 fundraise throughout the school year, with a variety of non-food related activities or have for sale healthy food items with proceeds going to their year-end trip to Toronto. This Christmas, students sold hams and contributed items to the penny table at the Christmas Melodies concert in December. This spring the grade 7/8 class is planning a walk-a-thon, meant to encourage healthy, active lifestyles as students seek pledges and walk in neighbouring streets in Onaping Falls.

At Levack students are awarded using prizes that are non-food related. Student accomplishment is celebrated at monthly character trait assemblies with a focus on the Rainbow Board’s Values. Weekly draws are made for Wolves tickets, honouring students for their efforts in good citizenship.

Students at Levack eat in the cafeteria and supervising staff have been celebrating the inclusion of nutritious snacks that include vegetables. We celebrate students and their healthy choices and encourage students to complete their meals with healthy sides like carrots, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Way to go, Leopards!

Our 4-8 french immersion class had the chance to get cooking in the kitchen. They wanted to use some of their own rosemary in a recipe. The class prepared and baked potatoes with olive oil and rosemary. They also tried a homemade barbecue blend. Students learned how to take on different roles and responsibly in the kitchen from food preparation to their favourite part, food sampling. Bravo, Mme Berardi and the FI students.

Gr. 6/7/8 students have combined their knowledge of media literacy and healthy. The group used their knowledge of commercials, advertising, and inferences and used it to learn about about how the media affects our eating choices and body image. To supplement their learning the students used an OPHEA video called “The Healthy Maze Challenge.”

As students complete their space unit they studied the phases of the moon. Instead of demonstrating their knowledge with the traditional Oreo representation the class come up with a healthier alternative. They created representations of the phases with cheese and rice crackers. As well as cucumbers and vegetable dip. Students later enjoyed eating their scientific representations!

Mme. Berardi’s students are growing rosemary and other plants in the class to help purify the air. In the next few weeks students will cook up some recipes including baked yams and rosemary. As a class, we will investigate different healthy recipes that use rosemary.

Our newest twist to the SPARK program has Mme. Berardi and some of her students leading on Fridays. These students were given the opportunity to get to dance on stage and lead the entire school because of their great participation during Spark. Way to go kids! What a great way to get the kids fired up on our Feel-Good Friday.

Our school’s SPARK program offers students the opportunity to get active and reward students with not only good health but students are provided the opportunity to lead the entire school in physical activity. Groups of students are awarded for participation with a non-food reward including our Grade 4 team, pictured here, for leading Spark several times throughout the month of November.

The school invested additional funds to purchase resources encouraging students to learn more about the healthy benefits of a variety of whole foods. Posters with this information is being displayed in the school cafeteria and now the eating space has also become a learning environment around nutrition. Posters include information about the health benefits of eating fish, the nutritional value of meat as well as the “fuel” when you eat grains and pulses.

Our school has been promoting the use of our bottle re-fill station installed last year in our main hall. Students are invited to bring re-usable water bottles and water is encouraged as the beverage of choice, especially at large-scale events such as our school Open House and special food days. When student activities are planned water is always included as an option over juice. The use of water re-usable water bottles are encouraged as students also participated in the the environmental water challenge issued board wide. Students were asked to bring reusable water bottles instead of plastic bottles meant to promote and encourage water consumption vs. other beverages.

In French class we’re learning about a variety of different fruits, vegetables and other healthy options. The students had the opportunity to speak French, while also enjoying a feast. This meal included green beans, peas, corn, tomatoes, carottes, potatoes and chicken.

We discussed how students are familiar with these foods outside of school, and the importance of making healthy choices on a daily basis. This was a team effort that promotes healthy eating!

Great job to the grade 3/4/5 and 6/7/8 Core French classes! Special thanks to those students who brought in the food, such as: Evan Campbell, Christoff Campbell, Cali Robinson, Conner and Darren LaLonde, Isabelle Bouley, Landen Dumais and April Jamieson. Way to go!

Another special thanks goes to Food Basic on Notre Dame, Sudbury for their support.

-Mr. Major

Grade 6/7/8 students learned about the affects of sugar on the body. First, students were asked to save their drink containers and packaged snacks from lunch. Next, students read the food labels to determine how much sugar is in each product. Then, students used kitchen scales to measure the grams of sugar in the products and displayed these amounts on the board. Students said they were most shocked by the amount of sugar in the drinks. After, students watched a video about how sugar affects the body and discussed how to reduce the amount of sugar they eat.

Grade 6/7/8 students learned about healthy eating and fractions at the same time. Students first learned about the nutrition label and how we can use it to make healthier food choices. Next, students took a healthy recipe (sweet potato and white bean chili) made for only 6 people and used their knowledge of adding fractions to cover the recipe to feed 36 people. Then, students discussed all of the reasons why this recipe is healthy (i.e. high in fibre, high in protein, low in sodium, etc.). Finally, students cooked up the delicious meal, learning knife skills and other cooking techniques along the way.

Breakfast Program: Again this year, Levack has a breakfast program that runs out of our kitchen, 3 times a week. One day a week students enjoy a warm-cooked breakfast and the other days students are treated to a variety of nutritional foods. Special thanks to Mrs. Kathy Moggy and breakfast club volunteers for their support of this program.

Fall Harvest Feast: Students joined parent volunteers and staff in the preparation of a full turkey dinner served in the school gym. Members of the school community donated a variety of food items to the event and students helped prepare the food in the school kitchen. We wish to especially thank Mrs. Kathy Moggy who is the head of our school’s Breakfast Club, for her leadership. We would also like to thank local businesses and clubs for their support and financial contributions to the event.

Improvements to the School Cafeteria: Students have both their nutrition breaks in our school cafeteria. There is a bulletin board we had in the cafeteria that was empty and uninspired. With the help from staff and student volunteers the empty bulletin board became a showcase of nutritional information and food inspired decor. We will continue adding to the board with student input. Special thanks to Mrs. Tremblay, our head custodian, for helping inspire the improvements to our cafeteria bulletin board.

Indoor Herb Garden: The yoga club and garden club has started at Levack, this is brand new to our school. Lead by teacher, Miss Brenton, students will be tending to an indoor herb garden all year and plan to move the garden outdoors in the spring. A similar outdoor garden is being used outside the Kindergarten classrooms in an outdoor classroom space. The garden is maintained by our kindergarten students.