Community volunteers and Environmental Leadership students from El Monte High School helped the THINK Together staff and students this week with the “Hop into Spring” event at Cogswell Elementary School.
With help from Plastics Make it Possible, an American Chemistry Council initiative that highlights the many ways plastics improve lives, about 25 students volunteered at THINK Together to hang a vertical school garden called, Woolly School Pocket Garden.
Besides hanging the garden and filling the pockets up with soil, the volunteers also tended to Cogswell’s existing school garden by weeding and planting new plants. They also read spring-themed books to the THINK Together students.
March 2 is the birthday of beloved children’s author Theodore Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss. To celebrate his birthday and the joy of reading, the National Education Association created Read Across America Day, where educators and community leaders mark the day by reading books to school children.
This year, THINK Together’s Sue Cornell, Chief Operations Officer, Ed Carlson, Senior Quality Assurance Coach and Jeanette Cruz, Quality Assurance Coach for Los Angeles County visited Aeolian Elementary School in Whittier on March 2 to read to the children there.
Sue was welcomed in the first-grade classroom, where she read two books to the kids. She also mentioned that she was excited to hear that she was going to read to the first-grade class because she had previously been a first-grade teacher herself. Sue brought in two of her favorite books to share.
Ed read books to the fifth-grade students. Students really enjoyed his read as did Ms. Goco the teacher. The book he read to the students was called. "Oh say can you say? "Oh my brothers! Oh my sisters! These are TERRIBLE TONGUE TWISTERS!" by Dr. Seuss.
Jeanette read to the kindergarten class in Room 1. Jeanette’s book choice was, "Hey little Ant." Students enjoyed the story and they had time for a little Q & A at the end.
Staying healthy is a big part of THINK Together and kids in our Baldwin Park schools recently took part in several activities designed to promote healthy living.
Through the Harvest of the Month program, children at Tracy Elementary School in Baldwin Park learn about a fruit or vegetable every month. They taste it, cook it and provide samples for their parents.
At Walnut Elementary School, the children learned about nutrition and healthy behaviors in a nutrition class made possible through a partnership with Kaiser Baldwin Park.
As part of the Kaiser partnership, several college students from Cal Poly Pomona taught the children about nutrition. The college students also got a chance to teach parents about nutrition in a separate class. The partnership provides a teaching opportunity for the college students as well as a way for Kaiser to promote good nutrition.
Four Baldwin Park schools took part in jog and walkathons with the students. To encourage fitness, the kids are told to walk and jog the mileage it would take from Baldwin Park to the Mexican border. Once the kids complete that mileage in the way of walking and jogging, they get to celebrate with a healthy fiesta. Schools taking part in the program are Elwin, Pleasant View, Walnut, and Tracy elementary schools. In conjunction with the Walkathons, students can sign up for Clever Crazes.
Clever Crazes is a non-profit online program where students can log in and register to win prizes for healthy behavior.Select students can win Nike shoes, an iTunes gift card and pedometer.
In October of 2010, THINK Together, along with nearly 30 volunteers from Southern California Edison, built the original design for the Miramonte garden with planting beds surrounded by bricks that were hand-painted by Miramonte students. After clearing the sod, a lovely garden area was created where students could plant and nurture healthy foods.
Miramonte’s school garden has served as an outdoor classroom where students learn about nutrition, cooking, math, science and sustainability. Through a private donation, the new garden will also feature fruit trees including plum, apricot and peach trees. This garden encourages environmental literacy as well as healthy living.
“Health and Wellness is a priority for THINK Together,” said Randy Barth Founder and CEO of THINK Together. “We are very intentional in our efforts to address childhood obesity and to provide resources to our families that can be the basis of better life. School gardens provide a wonderful resource for learning and I am pleased that we continue to work in alignment with our schools and the community to nurture health.”
THINK Together is serious about helping kids achieve!
THINK Togetheris making a difference in the lives of more than 100,000 California students. The non-profit organization's trained staff, dedicated volunteers and generous donors are providing extended learning time programs (after-school, summer learning, small group tutoring, early literacy, etc.) and resources to help these kids, their families and their communities achieve. Our programs, generally free for at-risk students and low-income families, are predominately available at public school sites across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and now Sacramento Counties.
With help from Plastics Make it Possible, an American Chemistry Council initiative that highlights the many ways plastics improve lives, about 25 students volunteered at THINK Together to hang a vertical school garden called, Woolly School Pocket Garden.
