Science In the Garden

Wondering what goes on in the garden while our fall crops grow?  Second grade science class visited the garden to draw what they saw – and what they learned about that was going on behind the scenes.  Students drew their own plant diagrams of what they observed which included leaf drawings, and how the sun, water, pollen, bees, butterflies, roots, stems, flowers, seeds all worked together in the garden.  Some students noticed decaying plant parts like “dead leaves” or “old turnips.”  The old plants were weeded and mulched during our fall planting earlier this month and now we get to watch our garden grow! 

We look forward to our fall harvest and school-wide tasting November 15^th.

DeKalb County School Garden Tour

Fernbank Elementary School participated in a DeKalb County school garden tour earlier this month along with Henderson Mill Elementary and Chestnut Elementary.  Hosted by Georgia Organics, the garden tour showcased three flourishing organic school gardens in DeKalb county.  The tour was followed by a presentation and lunch at Henderson Mill Elementary School organic garden.  Invited participants heard about how DeKalb County School District is bringing fresh, local food to school meals, and how teachers and parents are connecting these foods with curriculum and edible gardens.  We heard stories from leaders across the district about how farm to school is taking root and changing the lives of DeKalb students.

The DeKalb Board of Health, school board members, area superintendants, state level politicians, Atlanta Magazine, the DeKalb County School Nutrition director as well as parents, teachers and students were among the participants.

Thank you Georgia Organics!

Dr. Joyce Wimberly presenting DeKalb Farm to School program.

Student-lead garden tour

Engineer-designed water collection system.

Fernbank has a new Wellness Council!

Fernbank has taken the challenge!  We are pursuing bronze level recognition from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.  The Healthy Schools Program provides a framework for schools to assess and improve the wellness of their school culture.  It helps schools create an environment where physical activity and healthy eating are accessible and encouraged.  The program is an obesity prevention program that was started by the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association.

With a childhood obesity rate of 37.3%, our state ranks of 49th in the nation for overweight or obese children.  Lt. Governor Casey Cagle has challenged all schools to use the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Healthy School Program to improve in the areas of nutrition, physical activity and staff wellness.  By transforming our schools, we will shape the lifelong health and well-being of children and adolescents.

In order to begin the Healthy Schools Program, Fernbank Farm To School approached our faculty about creating a School Wellness Council.  We were surprised by a very positive response from our teachers. Nine teachers signed up to serve on our School Wellness Council, as well as Ms. Satterfield, our Assistant Principal.  In addition to our faculty, four parents will be on the Wellness Council.  The Wellness Council will be lead by parents Delilah Wynn Brown and Lee Ann Else.  We are thrilled to have two Fernbank parents, Anne Dunlop and Jean Welsh that specialize in obesity prevention on our Wellness Council.

Wellness Council

Faculty

Elisabeth Beckwith

JJ Carroll

Alicia Jacobs

Laura Mantrone

Meredith Mourdock

April Poindexter

Debbie Satterfield

kathy Shaw

Peggy Sutton

Lara Thompson

Parents

Delilah Wynn Brown

Anne Dunlop MD, MPH

Lee Ann Else

Jean Welsh PhD, MPH, RN 

Our first meeting will be November 14th, at 2:30 in Ms. Beckwith's classroom.  We will discuss the nomination process for Student Wellness Council members and review the process the Healthy Schools Program will follow.

Celebrate Apples!

Look at the delicious apples served in the cafeteria today as part of DeKalb county’s local produce of the month farm to school program. 

Planting in the Garden!

Our fall crop of lettuce, carrots, and radish has been expertly planted by Fernbank students this week and last.  But before we could plant our new plugs and seeds, there was much work to be done to prepare our garden beds.  Fernbank students also expertly pulled up dead plants and fed them to our composters.  The students added nutrient-rich soil from last season’s composter to the garden beds as well as organic fertilizer.  The lesson in the garden was What Goes In Your Compost Pile…

WHAT’S IN!!!!! J

Greens (high in nitrogen):

Grass clippings, prunings, fruits and vegetables, houseplants, manure (e.g., cow, horse, pig, chicken or rabbit), kitchen scraps (e.g., stale bread, egg shells, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, citrus rinds, fruit and vegetable peels)

Browns (high in carbon):

Leaves, bark, straw, woodchips, sawdust, newspaper (shredded), brush (chopped), corn stalks

WHAT’S OUT!!!! L

Do not use:

Dog or cat feces, oil, grease, fat, wood ash, meat or fish scraps, dairy products, weed seeds, diseased plants

Thank you to our teachers and parent volunteers!

CSA - What's cooking?

The first CSA boxes have arrived! This week you will find in your box:  apples, tomatoes, eggplant, garlic, okra, green beans, and potatoes.  Thank you Riverview Farms for the delicious organic produce!

How do you like to cook okra?  Here’s CSA okra, tomatoes and garlic, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted.

Check out Riverview Farms recipe box!

  Okra Recipe

Farm To Street

Healthy food rolls into the Fernbank Back-To School Picnic!  

Hundreds of people enjoyed everything from grass fed burgers to locally grown kale salad. The natural BGE beef hotdogs were a hit with the kids! Thank you to the hospitality committee for making this back to school picnic a health community event.