A Walking School Bus at Oaklawn Elementary!

We have had a little taste of spring this week.  It’s amazing how warm 45 degrees can feel after a long, harsh Wisconsin winter!  Along with the warming temperatures, come more activities!  We are very excited for the Walking School Bus kick off at Oaklawn Elementary School in Oshkosh this Thursday, March 13th, 2014!  The Walking School Bus Program is part of the Safe Routes to School initiative in Winnebago County.  It consists of a “bus driver” walking a route to pick up participating students.  The group walks from house to house, filling the walking bus then heads to school.  Parent driver volunteers have been a very important aspect of this program.  Last year, a group of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh nursing students piloted a Walking School Bus Program at Traeger Elementary School in Oshkosh.  Although it started out slow, more and more students began to participate.  With the help of Walking School Bus coordinator Sarah Wright from the Winnebago County Health Department/re:TH!NK and many parent volunteers, the program is now flourishing with nearly 50 students walking on 4 different routes!

Another group of UWO nursing students in conjunction with the East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission will be heading up this week’s kick off at Oaklawn!  There are currently 5 designated routes with two of those being remote drop off routes which allows for students who live further away to still participate in the program.  Upon arriving at the school, the participating students will have the opportunity to receive recognition and participate in morning kick off activities!  We look forward to more updates about the program at Oaklawn as the spring progresses and we thank all those who have made the program possible this far!  Happy spring!

Active Schools in Full Swing!

The long and harsh winter that Winnebago County has been experiencing has not made it possible for local elementary school students to enjoy very many outdoor activities, including recess! Thankfully, the Active Schools Program has been up and running at many area elementary schools since December 2013!  As part of the Wisconsin Active Schools Initiative, the Winnebago County Active Schools Program works to encourage and implement different forms of activity throughout the school day in elementary schools.
Last fall, we had the wonderful opportunity to engage 5th grade students from Webster Elementary School, Traeger Elementary School, and Omro Elementary School in a pedometer evaluation.  The students were equipped with pedometers for one week, both at school and at home.  This gave baseline data that will be used to compare with data this coming fall, to see how their movement has increased in one year, after starting the Active School Programs!
By January 2014, nearly 200 Winnebago County Elementary school teachers have implemented the Active Classrooms Program!  This program consists of each participating teacher doing at least 1, 5 minute physical activity break during the school day with their class!  One fun example is shown here, while Mr. Dexheimer’s 1st grade class at Oaklawn Elementary School in Oshkosh participates in “The 12 Days of Fitness” where they do stork stands, hula hooping, glides, muscle poses, and much more!  This program is currently reaching nearly 5000 elementary school students each school day!

Wilson Elementary School and Roosevelt Elementary school in Neenah have also been front runners in the Active Schools Program by increasing active minutes in PE, including home and family components in PE assignments, and hosting walking programs for students during recess where students earn tokens each mile they walk!  There are many elementary schools in Winnebago County doing so many wonderful things in the area of active schools!
 Allowing elementary school students to participate in higher levels of activity during the school day not only gets some wiggles out but increases their attention in and out of class, decreases the likelihood of aggression, provides daily needed exercise to keep them healthy now and builds positive health habits to keep them healthy later!  Thank you Winnebago County elementary schools for taking the next step in providing a healthy environment for our sweet little up and coming generations!  There will be more to come this spring!

Outside maybe frozen, but Farm2School is still working full speed!

          There is no dispute that this winter has been one for the record books. We have been struck by two polar vortices in which temperatures dipped to -50°F(with windchill), the ice layer on Lake Winnebago is currently over two feet thick, and for the first time in five years ice caves on the Apostle Islands can be accessed along Lake Superior. These cold temperatures keep us curled up inside more than we would like, dreaming of the days warm enough to go outside without a jacket. As those days approach, our time inside can be spent planning for the warm weather days. Whether or not Punxsutawney Phil is right, we still need to eat! Either by making a warming dish at home or going out to try a new restaurant, food is one of the pleasures we can still fully appreciate this time of year.

          During these cold winter days the Farm2School program has been sampling up a storm in schools all across Winnebago County. We have been serving Wisconsin Winter Moon and Potato Fusion blends for February Fun Food of the Month. Both products are locally grown /processed and offered by The Fifth Season Cooperative Food Hub through Reinhart Foodservice. WI Winter Moon is a medley of carrots, butternut squash, golden potatoes, and beets; the Potato Fusion is a mix of red, russet, and golden potato varieties. These blends are very versatile; they can be served sweet or savory, for breakfast or lunch. Depending on the seasoning you can have Italian, Tex-Mex, or Herb inspired dishes. Root vegetables are very comforting foods that most students enjoy. Along with serving these blends on the lunch line, we have been offering extra samples school wide in Oshkosh, Omro, Lourdes and Winneconne elementary schools.

Many students were able to try a beet for the first time, helping to develop their vegetable vocabulary. While some were hesitant to say they really liked eating the blends, many gave their support to eat them again if served. It’s the little wins that make these samplings worthwhile. As one endearing fifth grader from Omro put it, “These blends are better than McDonald’s!” Now, to the budding foodie who seeks out culinary adventures of celeriac soup and kale smoothies, this might not have much weight. However, in terms of gaining kids’ trust to try more local, fresh, produce this is a huge breakthrough. Fast Food is often a familiar comfort food. For students to independently develop their thoughts that a locally-grown product served for lunch is a better choice could mean more consumption of healthy choices in the future. These blends will continue to be ordered and served until they are no longer available. Hopefully by that time we will be breaking ground for school gardens and planning for samplings of locally-grown asparagus and fresh greens!

Look for future posts about school chef events, school gardens, and more Fun Food of the Month school- wide samplings! 

Medical Marijuana is a Drug, Let's Treat it Like One

Medical marijuana is working its way into state legislative discussions around the country as most and Wisconsin is no exception. Senate bill 363 was introduced in October of last year. While the public hears stories of how medical marijuana can help children with a rare seizure disorder (Dravet syndrome), adults with chronic pain, or people suffering from nausea as a result of cancer therapy, legislators should proceed with caution on how medical marijuana might be legalized here.

SB363 suggests the State of WI Department of Health Services (DHS) establish a registry for persons who use marijuana for medical use, where individuals would be required to submit a signed application, a written certification, and pay a registration fee. The bill would also require DHS to license and regulate non-profit corporations known as “compassion centers” to distribute marijuana and drug paraphernalia. This model is used in other states and includes a list of treatable conditions approved by the DHS.

This model creates a confusing gray area in drug prescription and regulation procedures. Currently, unless a drug is “over the counter,” it must be prescribed by a doctor or other healthcare professional with prescription privileges and distributed by a pharmacy licensed by the Department of Safety and Professional Services. If we want to treat marijuana as a medicine (aka “prescription drug”), then why are we creating a separate system? Enforcing established guidelines already in place for controlled substances with information about active ingredients, dosage, uses, and warnings should suffice.

Additionally, when a person is prescribed a drug for a condition or disease, the prescription is limited and monitored. There are limits on the number of refills, and follow up with the doctor to make sure the medication is treating the symptoms. If a person is prescribed pain medication for surgery recovery or healing after an accident, the patient is carefully supervised because pain medications are often addictive. There should be no exception for marijuana. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is addictive for approximately 10% of recreational users. If marijuana use begins during the teen years, addiction rates rise to 17%.

For those suffering from pain or rare diseases, medical marijuana may indeed be a wonder drug. But it is critically important to regulate marijuana as a drug, especially if the patient or recipient is a child. There is already a process in place to ensure the safety of a drug when made available to the public. Shouldn't medical marijuana be treated the same way? The gold standard for a drug becoming legal is to withstand double-blind, randomized trials.

There are now some clinical trials underway for a strain of medical marijuana used to treat children with Dravet Syndrome. The marijuana strain is being called “Charlotte’s Web” after a girl with the rare disease. If the public is to trust that medical marijuana is truly being used to treat diseases and reduce pain and suffering, and is NOT a backdoor into recreational drug use, then why are we using street drugs as a model for naming conventions? Naming the strain after a children’s book delegitimizes its medical purpose and may appeal to youth.

Proponents of medical marijuana do not favor physician or pharmacy involvement mostly because they have not endorsed medical marijuana in the past. However, just as public opinion is changing, so are attitudes towards medical marijuana within the medical community. Medical marijuana may hold promise and should be studied and regulated like any other prescription drug.

Let's Shatter the Myths About Drug Abuse

Every day, teens are bombarded with conflicting messages that may leave them feeling confused and unsure of who to ask for information about drug use. With 7.4% of teens reporting abuse of prescription drugs in the past year and 22.6% of 12th graders reporting using marijuana in the past month, it’s critical to reach teens with the facts.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse is holding the third annual National Drug Facts Week from January 27 - February 2, 2014. Taking part in National Drug Facts Week means you have the opportunity to help shatter the myths about drug use for teens.

Wondering how you can take part? 

• TAKE! 
• the interactive 2014 National Drug IQ Challenge!
• RETWEET!
• our tweets from NIDA!
• LEARN! 
• more. Visit the National Drug Facts Week website!