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Volume 3, Issue 6
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June 2013
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Greetings from CATCH USA
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Peter Cribb, MEd
National CATCH Director
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Summer is now upon us, and in this newsletter we will share some news on what is happening with CATCH Kids Club around the country.
Communities have been using CATCH Kids Club (CKC) for years, not only as their after-school activity and nutrition program, but as their summer program as well.
We are also finding that schools and after-school organizations are working closer together in their communities to bring that healthy message to families. The CATCH Programs are the number one obesity prevention programs in the country and a perfect fit for communities.
We have a great article this month on what is happening in DeKalb County, Illinois with the CATCH Middle School Program. As many of you know, the CATCH Team works closely with the Illinois Department of Health and our great friend, Lisa Cumings is a huge CATCH fan and supporter. Please take the time to read about the debut of CATCH Middle School thanks to Lisa's great efforts.
Speaking of middle schools, the Dallas Independent School District is wrapping up a 2 year project implementing CATCH across their 35 middle schools. Their Coordinated School Health Specialist is allowing us to share their CSH Newsletter on our website. Hopefully, this will give other CATCH communities ideas for implementing and sustaining CATCH. Click here to read the Dallas ISD Newsletter under the Community Newsletter section! CATCH Training in the News!
| Activate Whittier training participants learning how Over, Under, Around and Through works! |
I recently had the opportunity to conduct a train the trainer session in the wonderful City of Whittier (near Los Angeles, CA). For the last five years, the city and the UPTOWN Whittier YMCA have been developing "Activate Whittier" to help in creating a healthy Whittier. I spent three wonderful days with some very motivated "Whittierians" including Project Manager, Penny Lopez. Be sure to check out Penny's report in this newsletter on what's happening in Whittier!
What a great project and community effort!
And don't forget to get those Fall Implementation and Booster Trainings scheduled soon with the CATCH Team!
Summer goes by quickly and the new school year will be here before you know it!
Upcoming CATCH USA Webinar!
Our next webinar is scheduled for June 20th at 11:30 AM (CST) with a very special guest, Ericka Williams of the Oklahoma State Department of Health. Ericka is the CATCH Kids Club Coordinator for the entire state and will be discussing the great things they have accomplished over the years in Oklahoma with CATCH Kids Club. Click here to pre-register!
And be sure to visit the CATCH USA website to see how you can bring CATCH to your community.
As always, the CATCH Team is available for your calls, messages, comments and news!
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Listen Up!
What's new in the world of CATCH?Please visit:
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Activity of the Month
This month we thought we would highlight the ever popular Over, Under, Around and Through which can be found in the Elementary and Middle School Activity Boxes. | Over-Under-Around-Through |
Cllick HERE to watch! |
New CATCH Report Available
The new CATCH Report is complete and available online at the CATCH USA website. The CATCH Report is full of great information on the different programs, research, testimonials and stories about communities who have benefited from implementing CATCH. If you would like to have a hard copy of the report please write: Kathy Chichesterand get your copy! |
Did you miss our May CATCH WEBINAR?
Not a problem, we record and archive all of our webinars. CATCH contributor and CATCH Coordinator Lisa Tims gave a great report on what is happening in her community, Missoula, Montana.
CATCH IT HERE
If you have any questions for this or other upcoming or past webinars please write to: [email protected]
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Jared On The Playground
Jared Fogle, President of the Jared Foundation and ardent CATCH supporter, recently partnered with Carter's Kids, founded by television personality Carter Oosterhouse, and the Tony Stewart Foundation, to build a playground in Columbus, Indiana. One of many playgrounds across America built with the support of Carter's Kids, Columbus, Indiana is the hometown of NASCAR superstar, Tony Stewart, and his long time dream was to provide local children with a great play space to be active. Said Jared Foundation Executive Director, Russell Taylor, "giving kids opportunities to be active is what this is all about. The Jared Foundation mission is to fight childhood obesity; and with Carter's Kids mission to create and promote awareness of fitness and self-esteem for America's youth, and Tony's vision to create active play spaces for children, kids have the opportunity here to move and play where they didn't before."
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L to R: Amy Smart and Carter Oosterhouse of Carter's Kids; Tony Stewart, and Jared Fogle
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The President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition
You remember those President's Council "fitness patches" from when you were a kid in PE don't you! President's Challenge patches are only part of what The President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) does! At a recent DC event of the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, the President's Council mentioned that over 50 million kids and teens have been recognized since the programs' inception in 1960, and announced some new PCFSN initiatives.
| L to R - CATCH Government Relations Mike Haywood, Presidents Council Member Billie Jean King, CATCH CEO Stephen Cooke, CATCH Coordinator Kathy Chichester |
Some of these initiatives include:
I Can Do It, You Can Do It! (ICDI) which facilitates and encourages opportunities for everyone, regardless of ability, to lead a healthy lifestyle that includes regular physical activity and good nutrition.
Presidential Active Lifestyle Awards (PALA+) promote physical activity AND good nutrition, because it takes both to lead a healthy lifestyle. A six-week program to help you maintain or improve your health, it's a great way to get your CATCH students to track their health and fitness behaviors.
Lets Move Active Schools - A comprehensive program that empowers school champions (P.E. teachers, classroom teachers, principals, administrators, and parents) to create active environments that enable all students to get moving and reach their full potential.
With the PCFSN as the Nation's leading force to rally together programs and initiatives that motivate people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to lead active, healthy lives, CATCH is proud to support their efforts, rallying CATCH schools in these new and exciting initiatives.
Kathy Chichester CATCH Coordinator Editor-CATCH USA
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CATCH Middle School Debuts in Illinois
The Daily Chronicle in DeKalb County, Illinois published a recent report on how CATCH is working in the Genoa-Kingston Middle School. We would like to share some of Stephanie Hickman's report with our readers.
GENOA - For Lisa Cumings, the best part about her job is seeing children "catch on."
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Lisa Cumings-CATCH Coordinator Kishwaukee Community Hospital
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Lisa, who is the community liaison with with Kishwaukee Community Hospital and CATCH Coordinator, said she is often approached by students who have learned about CATCH and are excited to talk about it. The number of students "catching on" to healthier choices is about to grow. Genoa-Kingston Middle School is the latest DeKalb County school to implement the national CATCH program to promote healthier food options and active lifestyles.
"I would love to see this countywide," Cumings said. "We're in our second year, and we're in three school districts right now."
After receiving about $3,000 in grants from Genoa-Kingston's education foundation and the DeKalb County Community Foundation, the middle school is the first school in District 424 to host CATCH. It also is the first middle school in the county to implement CATCH. "The program will focus on sixth-graders", Cumings said.
"I'm excited to see what all it involves," District 424 Superintendent Joe Burgess said. "It opens a lot of doors for resources for our staff." Both the DeKalb and Sycamore school districts already have incorporated CATCH into their elementary schools. DeKalb hosts CATCH days in which Northern Illinois University students go into the classrooms and teach the children about healthy food choices. The DeKalb schools also have a bar of fresh fruits and vegetables for children to choose from at lunch.
Sycamore's after-school program promotes healthy lifestyles through group lessons and exercise. Both districts use CATCH as a model in their physical education curriculum as well.
"While all the districts are implementing it in different ways, the message is the same," Sycamore Superintendent Kathy Countryman said.
"I think it works well because we're able to implement it during the after-school program, so the kids view it as fun and a piece of their day," she said. "What we've seen a little bit is they're starting to spread the word, too."
Click here for complete article
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Activate Whittier with CATCH!
By Penny Lopez
Longfellow elementary school teachers and leaders from the YMCA of Greater Whittier , Boys and Girls Club of Whittier and Reach for the Stars After School program came together to be trained on CATCH as part of a community wide effort to build a healthy active Whittier. The training was initiated by Activate Whittier as part of their community action plan to slow obesity rates in Whittier, California. Lori Tiffany, Chair of Activate Whittier encouraged all the participants, "Everyone has a part to play in building a healthier community. Obesity is not a problem that one organization can solve alone." Each organization plans to implement and pass on what they learned in the three day workshop.
| Activate Whittier Class of 2013 |
Activate Whittier was founded in 2008 after an energetic commitment from both the YMCA of Greater Whittier and the City of Whittier. Together they began proactively working toward a healthy Whittier. Today Activate Whittier boasts a membership that includes the City of Whittier, YMCA of Greater Whittier, PIH Health, Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Boys & Girls Club of Whittier, Whittier City School District, East Whittier School District, LEARN and Whittier College. These entities, with the support of additional community partners and residents, are working every day to build a Healthy Active Whittier.
(Penny is the Activate Whittier Project Manager)
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CATCH Early Childhood Online Training Now Available!
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The CATCH Early Childhood online training course covers all aspects of the program including materials (curriculum, activity box and parent tip sheets), implementation and evaluating that the program is working.
* Nutrition Modules
*Physical Activity Modules
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Have any CATCH News you would like to share?
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CATCH USA News
Editor-Kathy Chichester Staff Writers-Megan Conklin, Kacey Hansen, Carol Caldera, Eileen Avato, Matt Mertens, Russell Taylor
Executive Editor-Peter Cribb
Publisher-CHI
Contributing Writers Lisa Tims, Deanna Hoelscher, Steve Kelder, Jared Fogle, Stephen Cooke, George Carmel
Advertising and Marketing: Matt Mertens Art Director, Layout&Design: JP Smith
Have a comment, question or would like to submit an article or announcement for publication?
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Join the CATCH Team
Interested in introducing CATCH to your school, after-school organization or community? We can help you! Call us at 877-247-7890 or write us at: [email protected] and let's work together! |
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