Students learn that nutrious foods can be tasty.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE The gym at the Barclay Brook School was the hottest breakfast spot in the township last week, as the parents of nearly 200 second-graders took time off from work and their daily errands to see firsthand what their children know about nutrition.
The breakfast, which was sponsored by the Monroe Parent-Teacher Association Nov. 9, was the culminating activity in a six-week nutritional health education program for the school’s second-graders, according to Barclay Brook Principal Carol Schwalje.
Ms. Schwalje said the nutritional program, now in its 20th year at the school, is aimed at teaching students early about the benefits of good nutrition through hands-on activities. In addition to learning about concepts like the food pyramid and a balanced diet, students learn how to prepare healthy snacks and soups and how to set a table.
They also learn about the importance of breakfast a fact attested to by their performance of a song titled (appropriately enough) "Breakfast" to kick off Tuesday’s event.
"Breakfast, don’t you know / will help you grow and grow," the assembled students sang to their smiling, laughing parents.
Ken Chiarella, whose daughter Teresa is the latest of his four children to participate in the program, said his daughter had learned a lot about good nutrition from the program, much to his chagrin in some respects.
"More vegetables and less cigars," was Teresa’s recommendation about how her father could improve his diet.
However, Mr. Chiarella joked that not all elements of the program had been totally successful.
"They may learn how to set the table here, but they don’t necessarily practice that skill at home," he said with a wry chuckle.
Sheryl Kenia agreed. Ms. Kenia, who attended the breakfast with her niece, Haley Dzingleski, said she attended last year with Haley’s older brother, J.T., and that she had yet to see a big improvement on the table-setting front.
"But I like setting the table!" Haley protested.
Anthony Giaquinto also said he was a fan of table-setting, a claim corroborated by his father Duane.
"He’s a big help," Mr. Giaquinto said of his son. "He’s also a good veggie eater; he’d rather have carrots than candy."
"So you don’t have to share the candy with me," Anthony teased his father, who admitted the boy had a point.
Following breakfast, a slide show documenting the students’ other activities over the course of the program was shown and the event came to a conclusion with a tribute to Victoria Kara, the school’s music teacher for the past 33 years, who will be retiring Jan. 1.
Ms. Kara, who has been involved with the school’s nutrition program since its inception, had earlier provided piano accompaniment on "Breakfast." She beamed with pride at the students she had helped teach and said she was happy to have been a part of a program that helped so many students over the years.
"At the time (the school started the program), we figured the best way to teach about nutrition is to have the children do it themselves," Ms. Kara said. "I think time has proven us right."