Students in seventh grade PE class are participating in the Rutgers Culture of Health School Program for the next several weeks. Nutrition, fitness, and education experts from Rutgers University will visit Westampton to deliver 12 lessons. Six of the lessons are focused on physical literacy, while the other half will focus on nutrition literacy. The comprehensive program explains the importance of combining healthy food choices and physical activity throughout our lifetime. Rutgers interns have students participating in activities for flexibility, muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, and coordination during the physical literacy lessons. WMS students are tracking their progress with a pre and post survey. The nutrition literacy lessons will see the students analyzing food advertisements and nutrition labels, learning food safety techniques in the kitchen, and separating foods for each part of the food groups. The students are looking forward to the nutrition lessons because they get to sample healthy snacks and “eat the rainbow.” All of the lessons presented throughout the program provide the students with real life experiences and teach culinary nutrition concepts. Some of the students have already found new healthy snacks for after school!
