All they want for Christmas...........................

New Secretary of Education Cites Sports Lessons

Arne Duncan, the new Secretary of Education appointed by Obama earlier this week, can be expected to "think of new, innovative ways to make the schools better."

Duncan cites sports as being an "extraordinary teaching ground" for life's lessons where you learn important values like: hard work, unselfishness, teamwork, sacrifice, accomplishing personal goals and how to judge character. He was a professional basketball player in Australia and pick-up game colleague of President Elect Obama. He was quoted as saying playing basketball at Chicago High Schools is a "bridge builder" with students.

According to Edutopia, Duncan shut down Chicago schools that performed poorly and reopened them with entirely new staffs. He started coaching and mentoring programs for teachers. He also supported a boom in new charter schools with diverse models, from military academies to single-sex schools, and piloted a program to pay teachers bonuses for top performance -- two controversial innovations Obama supports.

More on Duncan and what we might expect from the new Secretary of Education ........

http://www.edutopia.org/arne-duncan-chicago-public-schools-video

Hungry kids learn less

For the past few years the concern over childhood obesity has dominated school lunch discussions. But the economic crisis facing the nation is spilling over into schools. Susan Phillips, a teacher at Enfield Elementary School, in rural Enfield, New York, recently noticed that one of her fourth-grade students was always cranky and distracted at the start of the week but turned mild mannered by Tuesday.

The verdict, he was hungry. It wasn't a case of the Monday-morning blues -- it was hunger. Her student ate pretty well on subsidized school breakfasts, lunches, and after-school snacks, but over the weekend, he just couldn't get enough food at home. "We would feed him practically nonstop throughout the day, and by Tuesday he was back to his usual self," Phillips says.

Schools across the nation are developing solutions and most strategies are dependent federal school lunch program funds. More on the Edutopedia article called: Hunger Pangs.

School Employee Wellness Materials

The School Employee Wellness Website has just released a new product that is free to download called:
SCHOOL EMPLOYEE WELLNESS: A Guide for Protecting the Assets of Our Nation's Schools. It is a comprehensive guide that provides information, practical tools and resources for school employee wellness programs. It will help schools, school districts and states develop and support the implementation of school employee wellness programs that promote employee health, improve workforce productivity and reduce the costs of employee absenteeism and healthcare.

PSAs for

Countdown to Good Health: 5-4-3-2-1 Go

Who do you think has a greater influence as a role model: a parent, teacher or young adults? The Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), believes its young adults. Utilizing a new program called 5-4-3-2-1 where 24 high school students teach nutrition classes to elementary age children.

The classes are being held at various after-school programs and day care centers. The students are teaching students the 5-4-3-2-1 principle, which advocates five servings of fruits and vegetables, four glasses of water, three servings of low-fat dairy products, two hours or less of screen time and one hour or more of exercise daily.

For more on the 5-4-3-2-1 Program and resources........

A Child's View of Playground Safety

I found this video on Playground Safety on School Tube. It was made by two 5th grade students in their computer club.

Check it out.

Recess Before Lunch FREE WEBINAR

Join us on December 5, 2008 at 10 a.m. PST for the Recess Before Lunch: Five Steps to Success Webinar. Attend this free webinar where we share 5 steps to prepare staff, students and parents for successful implementation.

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/144069585

CA Schools Running Out of Lunch Money

CA Superintendent of Schools, Jack O'Connell is appealing to the Federal Government to provide more funds for California's free and reduced lunch students. With CA's budget shortfall it is estimated that schools will run out of lunch funds by January 09.

Health advocates are concerned that the high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables will also result in serving canned fruits and vegetables which are less expensive.

"Without quick action by the governor and the Legislature, districts will be forced to make a series of unacceptable choices to dip further into their own bare-bones budgets, serve less nutritious foods and not comply with California's nationally renowned nutrition standards, or reduce cafeteria staffing," Supt. Jack O'Connell said in a statement.