Concord School Farm to School
- Details
- Created on Friday, 09 February 2018 17:44
- Written by Chelsi Byrnes
CONCORD-The Concord School has received a fifteen-thousand dollar grant through the Farm to School program. Concord School was one of the 15 schools in Vermont that had received this grant. Sid's Pantry is located at the school and has also donated ten-thousand dollars for the program as well. The students learn how to do these everyday essentials in a specific room by the Sid's Pantry.
Students have learned how to cook, bake, clean and even how to harvest plants for vegetables in the warmer months. They have baked cookies, bread, and learned how to boil water so that they know how to cook food. They learn a new recipe everyday. The students have a specific amount of time that they spend each day in the kitchen based off from what grade they are in. The kids that are in the lower grades have about 45 minutes to an hour and the kids that are in sixth to eigth grade have an hour and a half or a little longer. They are all taught nutritional value in foods as well and are taught about the food pyramid. They are served fresh, healthy foods everyday in the cafeteria as a part of their program as well.
The school has also been allowing kids to have time to exercse twice a day for about an hour as well. The teachers have been really emphasing on having the children learn outside of the classrooms. Many schools don't have the same opportunities for their students to learn about things that they will need to succeed in life.
The program helps students prepare themselves for when they will enter the "real world". "I think it's important for the kids to get their hands dirty, especially here in Vermont, and making sure they have life long skills. I mean I think it's really fun to be outside of the walls of the classroom and to be just outside learning in a different way," said Julie Donahue, Principal of the Concord School.
Donahue said, " I just saw something recently on social media that said the average child doesnt know how to boil water, cook or fill out a check." " I think it's very important for them to learn these every day life skills just as much as it is for them to learn things inside of a classroom."
Donahue and other school staff had found out about this grant that they had received back in December. The original award ceremony was supposed to be on Februay 7th, but it was rescheduled on March 14th in Montpelier at the state house. This grant ceremony will be specifically for the Farm to School Awareness Day.