FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES BOARD
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES BOARD REPORT March, 2014 Living Well Raising Kids This winter Twenty-eight RAPP youth, ages 6 – 18, learned about Hudson Valley winter bird habitats and feeding behaviors. They created three types of bird feeders to help our feathered friends during this cold, snowy winter. As part of the woodworking unit, the children sanded, glued, nailed together and painted a napkin holder kit from 4-H. They discussed creative and alternative ways in which this “tool” could be used to help with organization of their personal materials. In March, nineteen of the RAPP youth earned a gift card for working toward and reaching the school engagement goals they set for themselves in the beginning of the marking period. At the project’s initiation, the youth discussed ways in which they could improve their school performance with their caregiver and a contract was signed by each to verify the agreement. This project is funded by the Orange County Youth Bureau and NYS Kinship Navigator, and is offered twice a year to all RAPP youth who are of school age. RAPP youth from Middletown receiving her School Engagement gift card with Linda Coleman, RAPP Youth Coordinator, and volunteer Lisa Higinson.
RAPP youth from New Windsor stringing cereal and cranberries for an inexpensive bird feeder.
Over 100 teaching, health, and human service professionals attended the 19th annual Making Healthful Decisions conference on March 14, 2014 at Mount Saint Mary College. Focusing on Women’s Wellness, this year’s research update highlighted a life course perspective, beginning with pre-conceptual health and ending with elderhood. All of the presentations featured faculty from partnering universities and research institutions, including Cornell University, SUNY New Paltz and Mount Saint Mary College. Local practitioners have come to rely on this annual conference as a means of obtaining the most current research and resource materials to help them in their professional work. Deborah Zamonsky, a retired FCS teacher and current volunteer for CCE Orange, shared: “I have been at almost every MHD conference over the past twenty years, and I really feel like this one was the best, both personally and professionally - please keep them coming!”
Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. Please contact our office if you have any special needs.
Dr. Rachel Dunifon, Cornell University, presents her research on “Mother’ Work and Childrens’ Lives”
CCEOC display for 2014 Making Healthful Decisions
Spending Smart Sandra McIntosh, Family and Consumer Sciences Program Educator, is currently planning a “Buying a Home” series in cooperation with M & T Bank. This program is for prospective homeowners and will begin Monday, April 21, 2014. This free four-session program is a must for persons thinking about buying a home. A few of the topics covered include: the pros and cons of buying a home, reviewing one’s credit history, obtaining a mortgage and looking at energy efficiency strategies. For each family who meets the program’s financial criteria and successfully deposits in a designated savings account with M & T, a match of four dollars to every one dollar saved (up to $10,000.00) can be used as a down payment or to assist in covering their closing costs. Eating Right Eat Smart Orange County Educators Annemarie Stephens, Carley Smith and their supervisor, Stefanie Hubert, spent a day at Monroe-Woodbury Middle School actively engaging 220 Family and Consumer Science students. The students had just started learning about “My Plate,” so the timing was perfect. Students volunteered the different fast food meals that they usually eat, then were challenged to choose healthier, lower fat alternatives. By using hamburger buns and butter, educators gave students a visual model of the amounts of fat found in their original meals verses their healthier substitutes. Students were shocked to see that many of their favorite meals contained approximately 10 teaspoons of fat or the equivalent of 50 grams. Eat Smart Orange County Educator, Miurka Hidalgo has been providing outreach materials and recruiting for classes at several food pantries and soup kitchens as well as the WIC program housed at the Greater Hudson Valley Health Center. In addition, Miurka recently ended a Spanish nutrition class in Warwick and one in Middletown with Catholic Charities. The series resulted in 10 graduates. Annemarie Stephens, Eat Smart Orange County Educator has recently started teaching a “Steps to a Healthier You” series which had an overwhelming response from the public resulting in 17 participants. “Steps to a Healthier You” is a basic nutrition education curriculum that introduces healthier eating by providing choices to participants and their families. Like many of our programs, this series is based on the American Dietary Guidelines of 2010 and My Plate. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. Please contact our office if you have any special needs.
RAPP youth from New Windsor stringing cereal and cranberries for an inexpensive bird feeder.
Over 100 teaching, health, and human service professionals attended the 19th annual Making Healthful Decisions conference on March 14, 2014 at Mount Saint Mary College. Focusing on Women’s Wellness, this year’s research update highlighted a life course perspective, beginning with pre-conceptual health and ending with elderhood. All of the presentations featured faculty from partnering universities and research institutions, including Cornell University, SUNY New Paltz and Mount Saint Mary College. Local practitioners have come to rely on this annual conference as a means of obtaining the most current research and resource materials to help them in their professional work. Deborah Zamonsky, a retired FCS teacher and current volunteer for CCE Orange, shared: “I have been at almost every MHD conference over the past twenty years, and I really feel like this one was the best, both personally and professionally - please keep them coming!”
Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. Please contact our office if you have any special needs.
Dr. Rachel Dunifon, Cornell University, presents her research on “Mother’ Work and Childrens’ Lives”
CCEOC display for 2014 Making Healthful Decisions
Spending Smart Sandra McIntosh, Family and Consumer Sciences Program Educator, is currently planning a “Buying a Home” series in cooperation with M & T Bank. This program is for prospective homeowners and will begin Monday, April 21, 2014. This free four-session program is a must for persons thinking about buying a home. A few of the topics covered include: the pros and cons of buying a home, reviewing one’s credit history, obtaining a mortgage and looking at energy efficiency strategies. For each family who meets the program’s financial criteria and successfully deposits in a designated savings account with M & T, a match of four dollars to every one dollar saved (up to $10,000.00) can be used as a down payment or to assist in covering their closing costs. Eating Right Eat Smart Orange County Educators Annemarie Stephens, Carley Smith and their supervisor, Stefanie Hubert, spent a day at Monroe-Woodbury Middle School actively engaging 220 Family and Consumer Science students. The students had just started learning about “My Plate,” so the timing was perfect. Students volunteered the different fast food meals that they usually eat, then were challenged to choose healthier, lower fat alternatives. By using hamburger buns and butter, educators gave students a visual model of the amounts of fat found in their original meals verses their healthier substitutes. Students were shocked to see that many of their favorite meals contained approximately 10 teaspoons of fat or the equivalent of 50 grams. Eat Smart Orange County Educator, Miurka Hidalgo has been providing outreach materials and recruiting for classes at several food pantries and soup kitchens as well as the WIC program housed at the Greater Hudson Valley Health Center. In addition, Miurka recently ended a Spanish nutrition class in Warwick and one in Middletown with Catholic Charities. The series resulted in 10 graduates. Annemarie Stephens, Eat Smart Orange County Educator has recently started teaching a “Steps to a Healthier You” series which had an overwhelming response from the public resulting in 17 participants. “Steps to a Healthier You” is a basic nutrition education curriculum that introduces healthier eating by providing choices to participants and their families. Like many of our programs, this series is based on the American Dietary Guidelines of 2010 and My Plate. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities. Please contact our office if you have any special needs.
