Support your local dairy!

We recently purchased a milk dispenser for our lunch and snack milk program.  Last year students conducted research to find out how many cartons were being thrown away. On an average over 100 cartons were thrown in the trash a day and over a school year approx. 19,000 ended up in the landfill. The milk that was being purchased in these milk cartons (Hood) was also Massachusetts milk, not Vermont milk. Why are we buying milk from a another state? To make this change, WES applied for a food service grant and raised Farm to School funds to be able to purchase the dispenser and enough cups to use during lunch service and snack.  The cups are 8 oz. BPA-free plastic and come in all different wonderful colors. 

The students have been super excited about the change.  Eli Grossman, a 6th grader says " It tastes less processed than the milk in the cartons."  Another 6th grader, Brittney Poljacik says "It is colder, tastes fresher, and it is a double thumbs up.  Now I buy milk everyday."

There is also a cost savings involved with buying milk in 5 gallon bags, it is cheaper than purchasing the cartons.  The biggest benefit of all is that we are supporting Thomas Dairy, a local dairy in Rutland, VT because the bulk milk comes straight from the dairy! 

If you have any questions or are interested in hearing about our milk dispenser, please contact Healthy Foods Educator and Provider,Gretchen Czaja gzaja@wcsu.net 

WES Farm to School Lives!

A note from Ms. Czaja (Healthy Foods Educator and Provider)
 
Farm to School connects schools (K-12) and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers. (taken from: www.farmtoschool.org)


Yes, it has been a while, however the WES Farm to School (FTS) program is alive and well! Life cycles are everywhere and as our FTS program continues to cycle, it is morphing into something bigger and better!  Through the years, we have dabbled in the different parts of FTS, however this is the year we begin to pull the three FTS C's (community, classroom and cafeteria) together for the first time. With the support of our school community, we will be able to really connect our children to their food and allow them to practice sustainable actions, EVERYDAY! 

As the Healthy Foods Educator and Provider, I look forward to supporting our FTS program in ways which we have not yet explored.  Providing healthy food experiences for our children on a daily basis will be one of my biggest goals, however creating learning opportunties in the gardens and cooking experiences will also be a priority!   

Please subscribe to this blog!  I will be updating it with our FTS progress as well as any cafeteria updates!  Thank you for your support! 

Partnering with Sustainable Woodstock!

It takes community partnerships to support and enrich the lives of our children and last week here at WES was a perfect example of how partnerships begin. There are so many amazing organizations in our community and we are fortunate to have begun a new partnership with our friends from Sustainable Woodstock. With what began as a small discussion back in March with Anne Macksoud, is now a reality, planted in the form of 5 thorn less raspberry canes in our front gardens.  Our 2nd and 3rd graders gathered outside to help David Doolittle plant donated raspberries canes (from his garden) in one of our new raised bed gardens.  The students were very curious about these "magical plants" as David called them, and when they would be able to pick the raspberries.  David talked about the canes, showed the students how to plant them, and how we would need to care for them.  We were also joined by Sustainable Woodstock board members, Anne Macksoud and Joby Thompson.  Thank you to Anne, David and Joby for making this yet another enriching experience in the lives of our children.  We look forward to our new partnership together and the endless ways we can help each other! 

WES students help David Doolittle plant raspberry canes, symbolizing the beginning of our new partnership!

 Students gather for the raspberry planting!

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT SUSTAINABLE WOODSTOCK

3rd grade plants the Three Sisters Garden

Mr. Mumford shows a team of his and Mr.Souter's 3rd grade students how to build a soil mound so that they can plant the corn, beans, and squash in our Three Sisters Garden. The 3rd grade studied Native American history and how the Native Americans grew their own food.  In the fall, the students will harvest the crops and have a harvest dinner.

Do you know what a Three Sisters Garden is? Here is one description taken from www.kidsgardening.com

Native peoples from different parts of North America have used a wide range of agricultural techniques. Perhaps the best known is the interplanting of corn, beans, and squash together a trio often referred to as the "three sisters." In a three sisters planting, the three partners benefit one another. Corn provides support for beans. Beans, like other legumes, have bacteria living on their roots that help them absorb nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use. (Corn, which requires a lot of nitrogen to grow, benefits most.) The large, prickly squash leaves shade the soil, preventing weed growth, and deter animal pests. The three sisters also complement each other nutritionally. 

Students get an overview of the Three Sisters Garden planting area.

Students work together in teams to plant each mound.

Our Kindergarten students visit Broadbrook Mountain Farm in Royalton

Our Kindergarten class visited Broadbrook Mountain Farm this past Tuesday. During the school year, Rebecca Beguin who lives at and works the farm (but doesn't own it), wrote letters to the children.  This is a farmer/school pen-pal program sponsored by NOFA (Northest Organic Farming Association) that helps match classrooms with individual farmers who are willing to form relationships with the children through letter writing. Students have been studying "long ago" and how life is different now. Inside the farm house was an old iron cook stove that the children got to see and the farm itself is over 200 years old, which tied in well with their unit.  The class also learned about the sheep on the farm, hay, and took an exciting wagon ride!

The 6th graders dive into the gardens!

Our 6th graders dove into getting our gardens ready for planting.  Three stations were set up and students got to pick which station they wanted to work at. Students weeded their grade's raised bed, designed their butternut squash garden sign and transferred a compost pile into other raised beds.  They enjoyed finding worms, digging, turning the soil and using the wheelbarrow!

Students design their butternut squash garden sign!

 

 

 Transferring the compost pile into garden beds!

Trek to Taste mini-research project begins!

A group of 5th/6th graders traveled to Cloudland Farm (Pomfret, VT) on Tuesday to conduct research on how local beef is raised.  WES received a $250 mini-grant from the Ottauquechee Community Partnership (OCP) to assist in their participation in the June 4th Trek to Taste event held in Woodstock.  The students will research the difference between how a small local farm raises cattle, compared to a large commercial cattle farm.  They will be making mini-meatballs and a display board for the Trek to Taste event. The students are interested in finding out whether taste testers can tell the difference between grass feed meat and commercial meat!  Keep checking in to see our progress or we will see you on June 4th at the Trek to Taste event!!!!! (A big THANK YOU to Cathy Emmons for taking time out her day to help us with our research!)

 Visit the Cloudland Farm website for more information on locally raised black Angus

 www.cloudlandfarm.com

Students talk with Chef Nick Mahood about the different cuts of meat.

All School Garden Kick-Off!

WES students and staff gathered on Thursday, April 14th at morning line-up to kick-off the gardening season.  Even though a few stubborn snow piles remain, Mrs. White (WES principal) talked with students about the exciting opportunities they will have for planting, growing, and harvesting food in our school gardens!  When students arrive back from vacation, more work will be done with our gardens following our school wide garden scope and sequence.

Mrs. White talks to the WES students and staff about the benefits of our school gardens, even with snow piles decorating the background!

Welcome Spring!

As we get ready to welcome the warmer temperatures, the WES students and staff gear up to begin taking care of our school gardens.  Through the WCSU Endowment Grant, WES will be able to purchase new gardening equipment for everyone to use this spring!   Please follow along with the garden theme we will be covering in school each week!  The goal of our garden program is to  build program sustainability by increasing student, parent and community participation in our garden program. Our goal of establishing and continuing to expand our gardens has always centered on giving students an opportunity to learn and explore the natural world, and to allow them an opportunity to see how they can provide for themselves.