Nutrition

Research tells us that adequate nutrition in children has been shown to improve learning skills, whereas inadequate nutrition contributes to irritability and poor concentration.  We also know how poverty and food insecurity has led to high rates of diet-related diseases.  But Michigan’s second largest industry is agriculture, and that puts us amongst the top producers of asparagus, blueberries, cherries, and dry beans in the country.  Plus we have access to 20% of the planet's fresh water.

In my mind, there's no better place to educate kids about eating healthy food, good nutrition, and growing fruits and vegetables than at Betsie Valley Elementary.  Students have been offered great tasting healthy food at lunchtime from our kitchen at Betsie Valley for a long time.  Mrs. Garske works extremely hard every day to provide fresh, local foods to all our kids.

Our students have also been recently introduced to Kirsten Gerbatsch.  She's begun offering food samples in the cafeteria.  Kirsten works with the Michigan Land Use Institute and FoodCorps (pronounced "Food Core").  Students are really enjoying the food and lessons that Kirsten provides.  They were really responsive to trying the white bean dip in the lunchroom on Thursday.  Here are the voting results:

Tried it - 15

Liked it - 15

Loved it - 53

Total = 83 students participated/voted

Most of the kids said they had never tried a bean dip like this before. This is an easy recipe that can be made from scratch using canned beans.  Here's the recipe for the White Bean Dip: Combine 2 cups of cooked white beans, 1/4 cup water, 2 medium cloves of garlic (peeled and minced), 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Serve with carrot sticks or whole wheat pita chips. This dip is also delicious on sandwiches and wraps.

The next time Kirsten is at Betsie Valley (Friday, April 5th), she may try another bean recipe, perhaps a bean salad.  Kirsten is wonderful with the kids, and brings a great energy to the building.

By providing opportunities for kids to try healthy, great tasting foods, we open up a multitude of possibilities.  We want to provide the absolute best opportunities for our students to learn, and the importance of good nutrition simply can not be ignored.

Great things happening at Betsie Valley Elementary

Mrs. Travis' is now providing students with a unique opportunity to learn to knit.  She offers a knitting club as an alternative for kids at their lunchtime recess.

Our 2nd - 5th grade students thoroughly enjoyed the performance of "Annie" on Wednesday, and displayed great bus and auditorium behavior!

Mr. Cox, Mrs. Erfourth, and Ms. Herban worked with me at TBAISD on Friday to begin the work of developing our 2013-2014 School Improvement Plan, complete with goals, objectives, strategies, and practices for each academic area.

The staff and students successfully executed a practice Lockdown Drill on Thursday morning.  Law enforcement from the Michigan State Police and Manistee Sheriff's Department were both complimentary on our school's safety and lockdown policies and procedures.

Ms. Dodge provided great leadership for eight of our staff members at our initial Behavior Team meeting on Thursday morning.  We developed a plan for the rest of the spring and a general focus for the fall.


Mr. Kelly worked with other staff from each of the other Benzie schools to develop a technology curriculum on Tuesday.


It's Spirit Week at Betsie Valley Elementary!  Here's A Brief Look at the week ahead:

Monday: Favorite Color + Historical Figure Day; 3rd Grade practices Mosaic at Auditorium; District Wide School Improvement; Girl Scouts

Tuesday: Sports and Exercise Day; 3rd Grade Mosaic 6pm at HS Auditorium

Wednesday: Dress Your Best + Fine Arts Day; First Day of Spring; School Improvement Team Meeting 8am

Thursday: School Spirit + Read-a-thon Day; Chess Club 4pm

Friday: Cozy Clothes + Movie Afternoon Day; Staff Meeting 8am

Links
A former school of education classmate of mine at Spring Arbor now leads Hamilton Community Schools as the Superintendent.  Blue Star Elementary School in Hamilton recently produced a lipdub video.  It's pretty neat.  You can watch it here.

That moment you realize you're appreciated -a link to a short story about a teacher having one of those moments.

Videos:

March Madness has begun.  Here's an excerpt from the ESPN movie, "30 for 30: Survive and Advance," based on the 1983 NC State title run as a #6 seed, and their coach Jim Valvano ("Jimmy V").

 

TEDtalk: growing your own food is like printing money.

 

Kirsten leads a hands-on activity with students in 1st grade

3rd grade students sample a bean dip at lunch