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Upcoming Events & Announcements
Celebrate Fuel Up with School Breakfast
Boston Public Schools' Food & Nutrition Services, in partnership with New England Dairy & Food Council, is hosting a celebration to recognize the importance of school breakfast to the academic success, healthy and wellness of school children throughout the city.
Friday, March 9th
9:45-10:30am
Dever-McCormack School Cafeteria, 315 Mount Vernon Street, Dorchester
The State of School Food in Boston
Panel Discussion with Michael Peck, Director of Food and Nutrition Services, on the State of School Food in Boston
Hosted by the Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness' School Food Subcommittee in partnership with FNS.
Monday, March 19th, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Tobin Community Center. Please attend this great opportunity to learn about BPS school menus & initiatives, ask questions and have your voice heard.
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Congratulations to the Tobacco-Free Schools Poster Contest Grand Prize Winner, Edgar Melo. Edgar is a senior at Madison Park. His winning poster will be reproduced and distributed to all schools and shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Boston Public Health Commission.
The Tobacco-Free Schools Art Contest was made possible through the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Initiative which is funded by the Department of Health & Human Services to the Boston Public Health Commission.
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BPS in the News
Salad days in Somerville
Nutritional menus and fitness programs are receiving positive feedback from students and families of Boston Public Schools and other school districts in the Greater-Boston area.
Read the complete article on Boston.com>>
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Students take to the Ice
Students from the Mather School get a lesson in ice-skating and spend the afternoon having fun and being active in a new way, on ice, at the Frog Pond in the Boston Common.
Watch the kids learn to ice-skate>>
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Greetings from Healthy Connections
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Healthy Connections is the district's strategic plan for strengthening coordination and capacity in the Boston Public Schools (BPS) to advance student health and wellness. The BPS Healthy Connections e-newsletter and website seek to promote and raise awareness of the district's coordinated and comprehensive efforts to improve student health and wellness; and will provide updates on the district's progress toward achieving the Healthy Connections overarching goal: To actively promote the health and wellness of all students to support both their healthy development and readiness to learn.
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| Kathleen Sebelius visits Holmes Elementary School |
 | | Eric Haynes/Governor's Office |
Superintendent Carol R. Johnson, Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino were joined by US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius at the Holmes Elementary School in Dorchester Wednesday morning to promote the Partners Step It Up program, which promotes healthy living through exercise and positive life choices. "Thanks for being the model for a program that is about to be expanded in the Commonwealth," Patrick said. "We have, all around the country, a national epidemic around childhood and adult obesity...We need all of us to eat better and move more, and we appreciate the example that you young people are setting for the rest of us." The Step It Up program was launched in 2010, in partnership with the Boston Public Schools and Partners Healthcare, to stimulate youth activity and give the students the power to track their steps and see really just how much exercise they are getting. Read the full article and watch a video from the event on Boston.com>> |
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BPS Receives Grant to Implement Evidence-based Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs in Middle Schools | |
"Making Proud Choices!: A Safer-Sex Approach to Reducing STD's, HIV, and Pregnancy is an eight-module curriculum designed to empower adolescents to change their behavior in ways that will reduce their risk of becoming infected with HIV, other STDs and significantly decrease their chances of being involved in unintended pregnancies." One objective is to develop positive attitudes and beliefs about condom use and skills. This will be taught by 9 middle school teachers who will be trained in this program and will reach approximately 800 middle school students during the spring 2012 term.
To promote healthy student behaviors we must offer comprehensive, skill-based health education, including comprehensive sexual health education for all BPS students. In response to the concern of students not receiving adequate health education we are pleased to receive this grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to align efforts in the district to ensure a consistent delivery of an evidence-based curriculum that is aligned with the recently revised Boston Public Schools Health Education Frameworks. |
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Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - it's the LAW! | |
 All schools in Massachusetts are required, by law, to have an Integrated Pest Management Plan for indoors and outdoors. It includes methods used to rid our school of pests without relying on harmful pesticides. Leaks/moisture, food, cracks or holes in the walls or floors, excess paper and clutter will attract pests, which contribute to asthma.
Contact the school Principal to find out about the details of the IPM plan or Andy Puleo in Facilities Management
IPM TIPS FOR TEACHERS
- Use the IPM log in the front office to report signs of pests.
- Ask for work orders to repair cracks, holes or dampness in your room that can attract pests.
- Recycle papers and discard or take home things you know you don't use regularly.
- Go through storage areas and closets on a regular basis and get rid of old, unwanted items. Clutter attracts pests.
- Have students regularly clean out their desks.
- Discard projects that are made on poster boards, food boxes or recycled materials that mice can eat. Take digital photos to keep a record of good work.
- Throw out items that have evidence of mouse droppings (i.e. chewed, urine stained, etc)
- Move things away from walls and cramped spaces so custodians can easily clean any droppings and to check for cracks or holes.
- Limit eating in classrooms (if possible). Keep food in clean, tightly closed containers.
- Do a visual check outside looking for missing door sweeps, cracks, holes, and vegetation that is too close to the building.
- Do not bring in your mini-fridge or microwave. They can attract pests to your classroom..
Download the Superintedent's Circular on Integrated Pest Management>> |
| 2012 Give the Healthy Choice a Voice Contest | |
The junk food industry wants YOU to buy more, eat more and to tell your parents to come back for MORE JUNK. These companies spend billions of dollars marketing unhealthy products to "young customers" like you, while childhood obesity and other diet related illnesses are on the rise.
When was the last time YOU saw a commercial or heard a jingle promoting fresh fruits and vegetables? Help the BPS Farm to School Initiative give the healthy choice a voice by entering this year's contest!
Food and Nutrition Services is launching the second annual Give the Healthy Choice a Voice contest. Last year we held a poster contest and received over 200 submissions from BPS students (thanks to all of our artists!). This year we are looking for 30-90 second commercials, songs/jingles, or public service announcements that promote the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy food choices in general.
Read More on the FNS Blog>>
Download the Flyer>>
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Kick Butts Day 2012
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On Wednesday, March 21st, students across the city of Boston will be participating in Kick Butts Day, a national day of activism when thousands of youth across the US and around the world stand out, speak up, and seize control against big tobacco! Students involved in the 84 Movement at 10 BPS High Schools will participate in a statewide event at the Massachusetts State House where they will meet their legislators and discuss the importance of tobacco prevention as well as share information about the growing use of other tobacco products among their peers.
BPS Wellness Councils that are recipients of the Tobacco Prevention Mini-Grant are also planning school wide events and activities to reach students, staff and parents about the importance of tobacco cessation and prevention.
For ideas and resources to plan a Kick Butts Day>>
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