Back to school has been busy for The OrganWise Guys! In particular, we were so excited to see the great work that Jackson Public Schools (JPS) are doing to teach children about good nutrition and healthy living.
The Friday before Labor Day, a HOPE2 site visit was held at Clausell Elementary and Key Elementary in Jackson, MS. In attendance were Walker Satterwhite and Cassandra Guess from Mississippi Food Network, Dr. Michelle King from JPS, Ms. Mary Hill, JPS Foodservice Director, Luz E. Benitez Delgado and Yumeka Rushing with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, MS State Extension Staff Theresa Hand, Barbara Rendalls, and Carol Ballard, Dr. Danielle Hollar with Healthy Networks Design and Research, and Dr. Michelle Lombardo and Caitlin Heitz with The OrganWise Guys.
The morning began with touring Clausell Elementary. Here, we saw a kindergarten class doing a lesson with Fiber-ific Fashion from the Heart to Start Red Kit. Even those these young students had only been in school for several weeks, they were already familiar with the whole OrganWise Guys crew! Next, the teacher led a WISERCISE with the students to finish up the lesson.
We also toured the cafeteria of Clausell Elementary and saw all the great Foods of the Month work they are doing. We loved the healthy bulletin board!
Our next stop was Key Elementary. Here, we had some very special visitors – The Kidney Brothers!! They made a guest appearance in a third grade classroom, where we observed students doing WISERCISE during their spelling lesson.
Then, it was off to the cafeteria where we were treated to an OrganWise cheer routine by the school’s cheerleaders. We loved their creative performance, as well as their costumes featuring fruits and veggies! This was a great example of incorporating the OWG healthy messaging into afterschool activities.
Our last stop on the school site visits was Key Elementary cafeteria for a tasty and nutritious lunch. Check back next week to see what we ate!
