ANNE J. MACARTHUR Public School has made teaching healthy food choices an important school-wide initiative by having the nearly 1,000 students participate in valuable ongoing nutrition sessions.
‘Healthy Foods, Health Lifestyle’ sessions started this year and have been a resounding success at the Milton school, administrators say. Students participate in cooking classes once a week to learn how to create meals using raw foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They learn about various salad concoctions, how to create nutritious soups for families, and a better understanding of root vegetables.
“Our intermediate students learned how to make vegetable-based pizzas that have been a hit at birthday parties,” said Cheryl Hayles, Vice-principal at Anne J. MacArthur Public School.
Hayles explained how she helped establish a Food for Thought program at a previous school and was impressed by the excited response from students. She wanted to mimic that enthusiasm at Anne J. MacArthur Public School.
“Learning how to create something that is delicious and self-made is like magic for children," she said.
The school uses produce from veggie boxes ordered every two weeks to create their dishes, which have included fruit salads, vegetable soups and baked vegetables such as sweet potatoes, turnip, beets and carrots.
“We plan simple recipes that can be managed by students with adult supervision," Hayles said, noting the classes connect to the Food and Healthy Bodies curriculum. “At the beginning of cooking club we talk about food selection and how they help our bodies to learn and grow.”
Students are “enthusiastically engaged” and are proud of what they are able to accomplish as a kind of “chef-in-training”, Hayles said. Students have an opportunity for experiential learning because they are involved in the preparation and assembly of the meal, she said, while creating a strong sense of school community. For example, Grade 8 students serve as sous-chefs and help younger students safely handle kitchen utensils.
“It is so touching to hear students ask if they can take home what they made for their grandparents.”
Teacher Margaret Williams said her students “were over the moon” recently after they made veggie wraps.
“I hope my class learns that even as young students, they can help prepare healthy snacks at home, and to understand the importance of healthy food for our bodies and minds,” she said.
The school has creatively organized the nutrition sessions to ensure all students can participate, Hayles said. A handful of classes cook at food stations set up in the school’s front foyer. Students rotate stations and work with different ingredients and eventually enjoy the fruits of their labour. There are hand-washing stations on site for all to use.
Parents are notified of the time their child's class will be participating and an ingredients list is shared for safety purposes.
“There is a high level of student engagement, which makes a positive difference in a student’s day,” Hayles said.