Dear School Board Members,
Amy, Jona and I sincerely thank you for listening to our proposal for a more pro-active wellness policy within the Jenks school district. As we mentioned in the meeting, we have met with Pat Meadows and see that she is making great strides to create healthier lunches at our schools. We appreciate her support and her effort and we look forward to continuing to work with her, as we make Jenks a leader in the state in the area of wellness.
We'd also like to mention that we realize that change takes time and that we hope the school district can implement changes within a specified time period, such as two to five years.
We'd also like to let you know that many parents at JSE, JEE and JWE, and other schools, are supportive of our efforts. Fifty parents have either e-mailed us in support of our cause or signed a petition at a recent JEE PTA meeting. Their names are listed below.
Again, thank you for your time. We look forward to following up with you at the May meeting. (In addition, Mr. Forbes requested that we look at the Union PS Wellness policy. I am in the process of getting that from the Union director of nutrition, and will forward that to Mr. Forbes soon.)
Monday, April 27, 2009
e-mail sent to 50 parents on April 19
Hi,Thank you to everyone for your interest in a new wellness policy for the Jenks School board. Most of you know, AP (pediatric dietician and JEE mom), JE (JWE mom) and I (JEE mom) made a presentation to the Jenks school board last Monday proposing a new wellness policy (Please see attached.) and proposing that the school board consider implementing the CATCH program. www.catchinfo.org.I'm pleased to say, the meeting went very well. The school board seemed very open and receptive to our suggestions. Several came up to thank us afterwards! This is the good news. We have our work cut out for us going forward and we'll need your help. Our next step is to bring up the topic again at the May meeting, and ask them to vote. The specifics of what we're asking them to vote for will be in my next e-mail. (Basically asking them to approve a committee to figure out how we are going to implement, communicate, go forward with the proposal.) Exactly what we will need help with will also be in a future e-mail. (I need to pace myself a bit!)On the same note, last week I visited with Pat Meadows, the director of the school lunch program. She is supportive of our efforts and wants us to know all of the changes we ARE making in the school cafeteria. She is striving to make changes and I've attached a docmument outlining changes they've made over the past few years. She is limited on what she can do due to USDA guidelines and costs. Interestingly, there is a lot of effort going on at the national level to make changes in our school lunch program. The new administration wants to make this a priority. I can forward some info. about this if you're interested. (But it may be a couple of weeks.)YOUR TIME: I really value everyone's time. If you do not want to be on this e-mail list, please let me know and I will remove your name. I hope to create a yahoo group or some form of communication mode in the future.
The process
covered, trying to find my way to the other side. Not sure what I'm doing but sticking to my faith and perseverence. I know that when I find that door, however I have to get there, there will be light. And this light will be progress at Jenks. Parents, teachers and students will KNOW that our school system takes wellness seriously and while yes, we still have the occasional treat, it's in MODERATION, and the students know WHY it should be in moderation. I'm excited. In the meantime, I keep plugging away. Would love your thoughts (especially those who know how school boards work!) Let me know what you think of the following:
Next Monday, May 4th we present to the SB and ask them to VOTE to accept the Jenks Wellness policy and piloting the CATCH program. Specifically we ask them to vote to approve a parent/teacher committee from JSE, JEE and JWE. The committee will be divided into the following sub-committees (each with about 7 to 10 members)
Policy implementation (within a reasonable time frame)
Policy education (to parents, teachers and students)
a CATCH committee (looking at how to implement a pilot program)
A grant writing team
A school lunch improvement team (to work closely with Pat Meadows)
A snack/fundraiser/party team
This means we will have to recruit about 60 parents and teachers! We can do it. We'll propose this as part of our presentation on Monday evening. All of the above is what Lisa and I brainstormed at a meeting today. Open to change and would love constructive feedback.
Next Monday, May 4th we present to the SB and ask them to VOTE to accept the Jenks Wellness policy and piloting the CATCH program. Specifically we ask them to vote to approve a parent/teacher committee from JSE, JEE and JWE. The committee will be divided into the following sub-committees (each with about 7 to 10 members)
Policy implementation (within a reasonable time frame)
Policy education (to parents, teachers and students)
a CATCH committee (looking at how to implement a pilot program)
A grant writing team
A school lunch improvement team (to work closely with Pat Meadows)
A snack/fundraiser/party team
This means we will have to recruit about 60 parents and teachers! We can do it. We'll propose this as part of our presentation on Monday evening. All of the above is what Lisa and I brainstormed at a meeting today. Open to change and would love constructive feedback.
e-mail sent to 50 parents April 27
We plan to ask the school board to VOTE on our proposal at the next school board meeting, next Monday. The more parents show up to support this, the better chance we have of being successful. PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING NEXT WEEK! The meeting starts at 5:00, but we will probably speak at about 5:30 pm. I believe children can attend. I know this is a really tough time for so many of us. (I have a close family friend bringing my son to soccer practice and I have hired a sitter for the evening.) If your schedule/family needs allow it, please plan to attend. Your support and attendance is very much appreciated.
Thank you,
Jessica
Location of SB Meeting:
Come to the administration building no. 3 at 1st & B Streets - 2 blocks north of Main Street/Jenks....2nd bldg on the right (east) long awning.....Sue Gentis Admin. Bldg....
Thank you,
Jessica
Location of SB Meeting:
Come to the administration building no. 3 at 1st & B Streets - 2 blocks north of Main Street/Jenks....2nd bldg on the right (east) long awning.....Sue Gentis Admin. Bldg....
Havent' had time to write!
I have not had time to write so I'm copying all the tons of e-mails I've been sending out. In a nutshell: made a presentation to the School Board two weeks ago. Make another presentation May 4 asking them to accept our proposal.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
The latest on my mission . . .
A lot going on. Last week I met with Amy, a pediatric diatician and mom at our school. She is going to be speaking at a health and wellness themed PTA meeting coming up in March. In addition, we discussed what we want to talk about at the school board meeting coming up in April. We only have five minutes to speak and so we need to make it succinct and powerful. We discussed having her husband, a ped. psychiatrist deliver the message. With his credibility, he may have more impact. We plan to talk about the following:
1. Longer lunch time or lunch after recess; this seems to be a big concern amongst parents.
2. Enforced healthy snacks - creating a healthy snack guidelines POLICY for all elementary schools.
3. Utilizing an already created healthy school program. Amy and some other moms and I will be doing the research to find some programs to suggest at the school board. There are already a lot of great programs out there, so we won't have to re-invent the wheel.
In addition, I'm working on getting a running team started at our school. The principal is having a meeting with parents and teachers to start this effort. Our emphasis will be FUN, FUN, FUN. We want to participate in at least 3 fun runs.
1. Longer lunch time or lunch after recess; this seems to be a big concern amongst parents.
2. Enforced healthy snacks - creating a healthy snack guidelines POLICY for all elementary schools.
3. Utilizing an already created healthy school program. Amy and some other moms and I will be doing the research to find some programs to suggest at the school board. There are already a lot of great programs out there, so we won't have to re-invent the wheel.
In addition, I'm working on getting a running team started at our school. The principal is having a meeting with parents and teachers to start this effort. Our emphasis will be FUN, FUN, FUN. We want to participate in at least 3 fun runs.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Now a little bit about yoga
I became a yoga teacher just six months after becoming a mom. My journey of learning and practicing yoga has coincided with learning how to mother my children and watch my 7 and 5 year old blossom into these two amazing little people.
Lately, as I watch moms pick up their children with cell phones attached to their ears, or see the SUV with a DVD on the big screen playing some Disney movie for a 10 minute drive, or as I catch myself rushing from place to place, telling my kids to “hurry up and eat,” we’ll be late for whatever is next on our busy schedule, I find myself asking the question, “How can I bring my yoga practice into my parenting?”
Children are natural yoga practitioners. I watch my five year old son stretch into child’s pose when he wakes up in the morning. I watch my daughter giggle with her girlfriends as they cartwheel around the yard, ever mindful and present, not a care in the world. And I observe myself, sitting on the floor with them, breathing, listening and being present. It’s not easy; sometimes I forget the complete presence I felt just two hours ago in my yoga class. Instead of listening to my kids, I’m worried about what I’ll make for dinner, or what appointments we have tomorrow, or my to do list for the PTA function coming up.
But my children, the best yoga teachers there are, bring me back to the moment. I slowly observe and stop my mind chatter, give my children eye contact and my complete focus and attention. I slow my breathing down and really listen, not just with my ears but with my heart. Isn’t that what yoga is all about? Being present? My dream is to help my son and daughter find their voice, their Satya with my love, connection and presence. Yoga sure helps.
Lately, as I watch moms pick up their children with cell phones attached to their ears, or see the SUV with a DVD on the big screen playing some Disney movie for a 10 minute drive, or as I catch myself rushing from place to place, telling my kids to “hurry up and eat,” we’ll be late for whatever is next on our busy schedule, I find myself asking the question, “How can I bring my yoga practice into my parenting?”
Children are natural yoga practitioners. I watch my five year old son stretch into child’s pose when he wakes up in the morning. I watch my daughter giggle with her girlfriends as they cartwheel around the yard, ever mindful and present, not a care in the world. And I observe myself, sitting on the floor with them, breathing, listening and being present. It’s not easy; sometimes I forget the complete presence I felt just two hours ago in my yoga class. Instead of listening to my kids, I’m worried about what I’ll make for dinner, or what appointments we have tomorrow, or my to do list for the PTA function coming up.
But my children, the best yoga teachers there are, bring me back to the moment. I slowly observe and stop my mind chatter, give my children eye contact and my complete focus and attention. I slow my breathing down and really listen, not just with my ears but with my heart. Isn’t that what yoga is all about? Being present? My dream is to help my son and daughter find their voice, their Satya with my love, connection and presence. Yoga sure helps.
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