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Welcome from CATCH USA!
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Summer is for CATCH!
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Peter Cribb with North Carolina PTA President, Donald Dunn
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One of the best things about being the National CATCH Director is traveling to our great communities and working and training with dedicated champions.
My most recent trip didn't take me very far at all as it was right here in Austin, Texas when I was invited to
participate at the National PTA Convention. Parent-Teacher organizations are wonderful champions for their schools and communities and are seizing on opportunities to help create and support healthy environments for their children. You can read more about our activities during the convention in this newsletter.
Also, this month I was fortunate to visit the great state of Oregon. The communities of Depoe Bay and Madras, Oregon are utilizing the CATCH Kids Club and Early Childhood programs respectively and are successfully blending the nutrition and physical activity components into their everyday activities (see articles below).
Peter Cribb, MEd
National CATCH Director
The University of Texas-School of Public Health
The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
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Around the country
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CATCH Featured at the National PTA Convention
More than 1,500 attendees, representing every U.S. state PTA attended the 2014 National PTA Convention June 19-22 in Austin, TX, and CATCH was there!
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National CATCH Director and Coordinator Peter Cribb and Kathy Chichester performing magic at the National PTA Convention!
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"Family engagement is a critical part of the CATCH coordinated approach whether we are working with schools, after school programs, or early childhood centers. This is an important audience and partner organization for CATCH" said Kathy Chichester, National CATCH Coordinator.
"What is apparent with this audience is their support for increasing physical activity in a student's day. Parents can be the champions of the message that physical activity is linked to academic achievement, and it's very exciting to see how supportive PTA's are for increasing opportunities for not only physical activity and quality physical education, but nutrition education as well " said National CATCH Director Peter Cribb.
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| CATCH Spotlight |
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Toby Winn with Leilani Coker and Patch Harris
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Depoe Bay program takes a stand against childhood obesity
When 8-year-old "Matthew" walked through the doors of Neighbors For Kids in Depoe Bay, Oregon, he was on the path to obesity. With a diet consisting of junk food, soda and meals high in fat and sugar, he wasn't interested in trying new foods - especially fruits and vegetables.
Matthew started participating in the Coordinated Approach to Child Health program, known as CATCH. The program features nutrition classes and physical activity woven into after-school and summer programs for children. Through fitness, education and a community garden, the CATCH program helped Matthew make important and likely life-altering changes to his eating habits and overall health.
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From L-R, Leilani Coker, Patch Harris, Keeley Wright, Noah McCarthy
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Toby Winn, Executive Director, said that just four months into the program Matthew was eating foods such as zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, berries, salads and hummus, among many others. He even began bringing home recipes to share with his entire family.
"We see amazing stories like this one that illustrate the power of education, and how an innovative project can help children make healthy lifestyle choices - therefore changing our culture one small step at a time," said Winn. "We help these kids believe it's cool to eat healthy and exercise."
Neighbors For Kids is an after school program located on the central coast of Oregon in Depoe Bay, and is one of the original CATCH sites for a two-county outreach grant administered by Samaritan Health Services, started in 2012. The program is an example of how collaboration and innovation in a caring and fun atmosphere can positively impact childhood obesity.
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| Cartoon Network and CATCH |
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National CATCH Coordinator Kathy Chichester and her daughter Claire!
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As part of their commitment to youth health and wellness, Cartoon Network has partnered with CATCH to support nutrition and physical activity messages for their National Move It Movement Tour. Engaging families and communities with healthy information and fun physical activities, the 22 stop tour also features activities from partners such as Lets Move!, and NFL Play 60.
Kathy Chichester, National CATCH Coordinator and daughter Claire, supported the CATCH information booth at the NJ Tour stop at Somerset Patriots Park in Bridgewater, NJ. Additional MIMT stops can be found here.
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| Pink and Dude Chefs | |
Cal Poly Launches
Pink and Dude Chefs
Nutrition and Culinary After School Program
for Middle Schools
After years in development, planning and piloting, Cal Poly (California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, CA) is officially launching their Pink and Dude Chef program. Created by college undergrads through the on-campus STRIDE organization (Solutions Through Research In Diet & Exercise), Pink/Dude is a great way to introduce nutrition and cooking classes to middle school aged students. STRIDE is now making the program available everywhere and recently released this announcement. Experts in human nutrition, health promotion, and health education at STRIDE have developed an innovative and dynamic program called Pink and Dude Chefs that improves healthy eating behaviors by increasing nutrition knowledge and culinary skills in adolescents. The curriculum is fun, effective, and appeals to adolescents by giving them hands-on experience and practical information relevant to their daily lives. Research conducted on this program since 2008 has shown that adolescents increased their preferences for fruits and vegetables, had improved culinary confidence, and ate more fruits.
 The most important aspect of the Pink and Dude Chefs program is how much people love it! From university researchers to individual program leaders in after-school organizations, the response has been nothing but positive. A YMCA Youth Obesity Prevention Specialist in Nashville, Tennessee said, "I am proud that at the end of the program, our Pink and Dude Chefs walked away not only having learned valuable nutrition education, but also with a new skill set and increased confidence in their cooking abilities."
Parents have watched as their children make healthier food choices and eagerly assist in meal preparation after participating in the program. Most importantly and not surprisingly, adolescents participating in Pink and Dude Chefs are the program's biggest fans. One happy student stated, "We like what we cook. We cook nutritious things and we have very fun activities!" The participants flourish in the interactive learning environment and feel pride in the delicious recipes they create.
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Pink and Dude budget meeting for middle school students
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In response to nationwide demand, we have developed an Online Campus, hosted by CHI, which empowers anyone, regardless of nutrition or culinary background, to run the Pink and Dude Chefs program. The Online Campus is a highly effective, interactive learning tool that trains users in nutrition and culinary concepts through a combination of written material and accessible, fun video segments. One of the many benefits of this online format is that users can train at their own pace, saving organizations time and money.
The Online Campus is accompanied with products specially designed to ensure consistently successful results and to stimulate positive learning environments. Users of the Online Campus receive a comprehensive Instructor's Manual and Student Workbooks, and for convenience, we've made available for additional purchase, Kitchen Supply Kits so that one can have everything needed to run a Pink and Dude Chefs program.
Pink and Dude Chefs is now available to anyone interested in implementing a program in their own community.
"Pink and Dude Chefs is a unique student developed program and would be a great enhancement to any CATCH Middle School Program out there" says National CATCH Coordinator Kathy Chichester.
To learn more about Pink and Dude Chefs and to take advantage of this great opportunity please click here.
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CATCH in the News!
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We have some great stories and news from CATCH Communities
Nemours Childhood Obesity Prevention Strategies for Rural Communities
Nemours Report
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CATCH in Marfa, Texas
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Marfa International School
We really love it when our CATCH Communities share some of their stories with us on what is happening in their town. We heard recently from Sam Schonzeit who is the PE instructor at the Marfa International School in Marfa, Texas. For those not familiar with Marfa, it's a great little community in West Texas known for its history, art and the famous Marfa Lights. It's also where much of the movie "Giant" was filmed back in 1956. We asked Sam to fill us in on what is happening in Marfa and this is what he shared with us.
 Marfa, TX is located in an extraordinarily remote area in the Big Bend Region of West Texas. We are 3 hours from the nearest airport and twenty five miles from the nearest pharmacy. The Marfa International School was founded in 2012 and is now in its 2nd Spring semester. The school is located on the Southeastern edge of town, surrounded by working ranches. Horses, cattle and pronghorn antelope populate the adjacent properties. Looking out over the playground and the great expanse of the Marfa Plateau you can see Cathedral Mountain over 50 miles away.
 | | Sam and his class |
I was asked to be the Physical Education instructor at the school this past fall having taught an after-school PE class the year before. Most of my teaching experience had been in Fine Arts but I have been an avid exerciser for many years and played on several varsity teams through high-school.
The CATCH program has provided me with valuable reference for instruction and the different capabilities and interests of children ages 5-11. Perennial favorites for k-2 has been Automobile and Over the Rainbow and they have recently been enjoying paddle games played on windy days inside with balloons.
We have used the bean bags in any number of ways. Bean Bag Balances have been great for those kids as they attempt to control their sometimes unwieldy bodies. Grades 3-5 have lately been enjoying Dragon's Tail. The enthusiasm for the game has meant that the re-entrance tasks are well received and the kids are doing herculean amounts of push-ups, squats and jumping jacks.
Given the locale and the newness of the school we were looking for resources both in curriculum and
equipment. The CATCH system provided both of those things and also provided me, a new PE teacher with groundwork for implementing a healthy and fun PE program.
Thanks Sam!
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CATCH Webinars
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Miss this month's Webinar?
Associations of Fitness and Academic Achievement
Presented by:
Duncan Van Dusen, MPH
Executive Director,
CATCH Global Foundation and
Steve Kelder, PhD, Co-Director of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation for Healthy Living
 | Duncan Van Dusen
Executive Director
CATCH Global Foundation |
Everyone agrees with the importance of having healthy children, but schools are evaluated and funded based on students' academic performance - not their physical fitness. 13 Texas School Districts contributed anonymous, matched fitness and standardized test records for over a quarter million schoolchildren to a study at the UT School of Public Health.
Watch June's Webinar
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CATCH Early Childhood
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The Children's Learning Center (TCLC) is a Head Start, Childcare, and Pre-school program serving approximately 150 children age 1-5 years old. Along with utilizing the CATCH Early Childhood (CEC) curriculum, TCLC is also certified as a Let's Move Childcare and an USDA Wellness Champion. On April 1st TCLC celebrated the 2nd annual Let's Move Day. The idea was conceived as a fun way to get children active and moving all day long. Children this year participated in an obstacle course, soccer, sack races, dance party, and a bouncing house. The day was a great success with both children and staff being absolutely exhausted by the end of the day.
Click here for more information on The Children's Learning Center
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| President's Council Award |
Steve Becker of JCC Association (and CATCH Champion!) Honored by President's Council
 | | Steve Becker, JCCA |
We are pleased to announce that Steve Becker, JCC Association's VP of Health and Wellness received the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) 2014 PCFSN Community Leadership Award. The award is given annually to individuals or organizations that improve the lives of others within their community by providing or enhancing opportunities to engage in sports, physical activities, fitness or nutrition-related programs
Steve's work on Discover CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health), a child-centered nutrition and wellness program, in particular, was singled out. Developed in collaboration with the University of Texas School of Public Health, JCCA enhanced CATCH to include a Jewish values component and targets children age 3-5, encouraging them to develop lifelong healthy eating and exercise habits.
We are so proud to partner with JCCA and the Discover CATCH team. Steve, along with Mark Horowitz and Mackenzie Noda have created a program and national delivery model that is truly impacting thousands of families across the country.
Congratulations Steve!
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CATCH Network
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Connect to CATCH on Twitter!
If you have a Twitter account, you HAVE to follow
@USACATCH, @DrSteveKelder, @MSDCenter, @DeannaHoelscher, and
@TexasTCORS.
By following these five accounts you will receive: - The latest cutting edge research on child and adolescent health.
- Notifications for funding your school health program.
- School health best practices from all over the country.
- Professional development opportunities on diet, physical activity, and tobacco prevention and control.
See you on Twitter!
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