Wellness? in Westford

[Amber]

Last week, Miss Samantha flew into the house, flung a paper on the kitchen table, and said dramatically, "just another reason to hate school! Mom, can I be home schooled?"

The source of her frustration? A lovely notice home stating that school celebrations will no longer include treats for kids. Snacks must be healthy - fruits, veggies, pretzels, popcorn. Juice must be in serving sizes of 4 ounces or less. (I checked at MB - you can't BUY juice boxes that small. The smallest size with Clifford on the box is a non-compliant 4.23 ounces. Next year, they plan to remove food from classroom celebrations entirely.)

So, I asked her what she could do if something was happening that she didn't like. She responded, "write a petition and have people sign it". Good girl. She's written it herself, after gleaning ideas from other students and adults.

At the heart of the argument is this: If the state via public education is really concerned about obesity, they should teach children to enjoy treats in moderation, not cut them out completely. It seems to Sam that 3 parties a year in class is a pretty moderate amount of treats. There has been discussion of eliminating food from celebrations at school entirely. Overkill much?

They'd be much more effective with an increase in gym time to 3x/week and giving the kids an extra recess every day.

You combat obesity by getting people active, not be restricting intake on three out of 180 school days. A gazillion dollar diet industry should have made that a no-brainer by now.

If you or your kids are interested in signing her petition, drop me an email. amberlyn1 at yahoo dot com.

[loucook]

If the schools are so concerned about our children's health they should focus on adding more time for exercise into the day. Trying to manage their health using nutrition doesn't work since they can not ( at least not yet) dictate what the child eats at HOME.

[Tony1941]

They could make the children walk to school, uphill both ways. From my property, it would be 3/4 of a mile to Abbot school uphill about 60% of the time.
From Abbot, my kid would go to downhill 3/4 mile to Cold Spring road then 3/4 mile to the intersection of Cold Spring and Graniteville rd then uphill on Granitevile road for 1 mile to Main St. then a flat 1/2 mile to Frost plus 1/3 mile downhill.The trip would be in excess of 3 miles with a significant aerobic challenge.

I estimate about 700 calories or the equivalent of a Big Mac Meal with fires and a small ice cream cone.

[Nab4Life]

Ughh, I saw that too..
Kids have almost nothing to look forward to at school anymore.

[Amber]

Extra help to score higher on MCAS isn't something they look forward to?

Aside from Matt, who has disability-related feeding issues (even so still eats carrots, celery, lettuce, and broccoli), my kids are pretty healthy eaters. Soups, salads, casseroles, stir fries, meat, potatoes, vegetables...because I started them off with those foods in the highchair. They also eat ice cream, cupcakes, cookies, and brownies.

I can't imagine how we all survived as kids. Walking to and from school, riding our bikes around the neighborhood unsupervised, eating cupcakes and cookies unchecked at classroom parties, three recesses a day, real school lunches, gym class and free afterschool sports. It is a wonder we're still alive to create the plastic bubbles our kids need to protect them from life.

[Amber]

The Sun spoke with Samantha and I yesterday. Sam didn't get quoted, but here is the article.

Interesting side note - these regulations do NOT pertain to individual treats sent in with students. Parents can send in a treat/drink for their child to consume during the class party as long as it is not shared with other students.

Cookies, brownies, etc. which fall within the regulation's guidelines for fat, calories, sodium, and sugar content CAN be included in the classroom celebrations according to the statute, and as such should not be "banned" by the administration if their goal is truly to simply adhere to the new regulation.

[Amber]

http://westford.patch.com/articles/p...school-parties

[dweir]

Forget Westford Patch. It's on DRUDGE REPORT!!

[peasea]

It is time for members of communities to revive the practice of shunning, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shunning if not familiar with it. It will work wonders on Mr. Olsen.

[Amber]

Sami is asking people to sign her petition to support allowing students to have treats during classroom celebrations. (She was having a hard time trying to figure out how to get a hard copy to everyone to sign, so I helped her create this tonight instead.)
http://www.change.org/petitions/west...m-celebrations