- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Contributor: Jackie Barahona
Science Night is an evening of hands-on science activities for students and their families to do together. Science Night is an opportunity for parents to visit their children's schools to celebrate student learning. Since the coronavirus pandemic has prevented this type of school gathering this year, some elementary schools in Coachella Valley Unified organized virtual Science Night events using the Zoom platform to keep families engaged. Being a community partner that promotes student health and wellness, the CalFresh Healthy Living, UC Cooperative Extension (CFHL, UCCE) was invited to participate. Our CFHL, UCCE Educators: Jackie Barahona, Daisy Valdez, Itzel Palacios-Sanchez and Esmeralda Nunez presented ‘Plant Anatomy' which is adapted from the Eat Your Plants lesson from the TWIGS nutrition and gardening curriculum. Students and families had fun on Zoom learning about edible plant parts and the benefits of eating vegetables and fruits. When asked what they took away from this session, one student commented in the chat "I learned that some vegetables are considered fruits" and another said "I learned more about plants and that we can eat them." The event was held on December 3, 2020, jointly for the Cesar Chavez and Valle Del Sol Elementary Schools, and on December 9, 2020 for Saul Martinez Elementary.
Our CFHL, UCCE team is thankful for the opportunity to be a partner in the virtual Science Night events and is pleased with the positive feedback from the Principal at Saul Martinez:
“I want to take a moment to thank the entire team that made our very first Saul Martinez Virtual Family Science Fair a huge success! Our Saul Martinez students and parents were engaged in critical thinking on the scientific process and I have received much positive feedback from our families! At the end of the event, one student sent me a private message in the zoom chat, “This is fun, when are we doing science night again?” That question right there equals success!! I hope we can do this again in the near future!”
- Author: Claudia Carlos
- Author: Chutima Ganthavorn
- Editor: Michele Tabor
With technology, the traditional brain break in the classroom has gone digital! Over 650 teachers participated in the Brain Breaks in the Virtual World session at the Alvord Unified Distance Learning Virtual Summit on August 3, 2020. CalFresh Healthy Living (CFHL), UCCE Riverside County teamed up with Bethany Rivera, Wellness Lead at Loma Vista Middle School, to provide this training for TK through 12th grade teachers. The Virtual Summit hosted on Google Meets featured teachers teaching their peers - about live online learning strategies and socioemotional distance learning. The CFHL, UCCE team's presentation included four virtual physical activity breaks (brain breaks) demonstrations for lower elementary, upper elementary, middle and high school. The team created a teacher resource list with links to virtual PA videos for the four grade levels.
For any student (and adult), sitting in front of a device to do distance learning is a lot of mental work and students may need a break in the middle of their virtual classes. CFHL, UCCE team showed real life examples of brain break activities appropriate for different age groups. Out of the 230 teachers who responded to the Mentimeter poll, 88% said they are very likely or likely to schedule a physical activity break during their virtual lessons. The Riverside CFHL, UCCE team is grateful for the strong partnership with Alvord Unified (AUSD) which led to this training opportunity and the support of Patti Suppe, CAHPERD President and past AUSD District Wellness Lead. We are hopeful that Alvord students will greatly benefit from the resources shared at this session.
Aldrich Tan, Special Education Teacher at McAuliffe Elementary School shared feedback after the training: “You were amazing! Teachers in the stands loved it and they loved the opportunities to stand up. One teacher said it was the best session of the day.”
