Today is the kick-off to one of our favorite events. The Woolwich PTA partners with the Wellness Committee in a week-long celebration of healthy eating, each day representing a color of the rainbow. Sound boring? No way.
For starters, classroom teachers and their students have been scheming for the "Decorate your Door Contest". For the week leading up to this event, entries to each classroom (and even the offices) are "a-doorned" with cutout fruits and veggies, tid-bits of nutrition trivia and other surprises. Mrs. Babcock's class is ramping up to hold their title!
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| Wildcat Mom, and PTA Volunteer Blueberry B. |
Mrs. Devin's Art classes are churning out colorful masterpieces for the hallways, and Mrs. Luchies has carefully selected a pallet of books to display from the library collection. Students and staff will dress the "color of the day" and the Joanne and staff will decorate the cafeteria for lunch and breakfast - which includes place cards detailing the featured fruit or vegetables of the day.
But how did this all come to be? Mrs. Harrington, Nurse Sherwood and the wellness team decided to expand the Eat the Rainbow week 6 years ago to include serving snacks to students which would provide samplings of a fruit or vegetable never tried before. The initial year was funded by a local sponsor with $500 seed money. Since then, Fuel Up to Play grants have continued to support it. The team also partners with the Midcoast Hospital 5210 Program.
Through these funding streams, the team, along with PTA volunteers, preps dozens of trays with samples for every student, PreK-8, every day of the week. (nearly 400 kids!) Wellness team members of middle-school students deliver the trays to each classroom, each server smartly dressed as a fruit or vegetable (costumes donated by Midcoast hospital)
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| Ready to Serve! |
Some
teachers also record and graph some of the favorites that students sample throughout the week. The students also provide feedback on foods of "favored firsts" Fennel,
pomegranate, cilantro, mushrooms, mango, broccoli, and veggie straws are
the most popular.
Here is the color key for the week. Purple socks? Green tie? Red for upcoming Valentine's Day? Go for it! And in case you are wondering, the trays ALWAYS come back empty! Happy snacking!
Monday = Blue/Purple
Tues. = Green
Wed.= White/Brown
Thurs = Yellow/Orange
Fri. = Red (for Valentine’s on Sunday!)
