Healthy Habits Week

Dear Parents,

It is Healthy Habits week here at NJIS and all students in 5B have been discussing the importance of eating well-rounded, healthy meals.

On Monday, we realized that some students in 5B were not eating breakfast at all before coming to school! Breakfast truly is the most important meal of the day and I hope that from our discussions, all students will try to eat something healthy in the morning from now on.

During the lesson, the students identified how to consume a variety of nutrient-dense breakfast foods and beverages. Our lesson focused on making sure that the breakfast foods we eat come from the five most important food types: Grains; Meat & Beans; Milk; Fruit and Vegetables.

Students were then placed in groups of 5 and together, they devised ‘The Perfect Breakfast Menu’.

On Friday 9^th October morning, from 7:30 – 8:00 am, as a fun activity, we are hoping to hold our very own ‘Perfect Breakfast Buffet’. In their groups, students have already decided what food they will bring to share with their classmates. They have made decorative menus and place cards and will tell us why their breakfast foods are healthy. We will gather together, talk about the foods and then enjoy eating a healthy, nutrient filled breakfast to get us started for the day!

I hope that you will support this activity by helping your child bring in the food/beverages to share on Friday. I will be taking lots of photographs to share on our class website.

Thank you so much for your wonderful support,

Kathryn Beck

More About Breakfast

• Breakfast should include a variety of different
• Foods/beverages from each of the five food groups
• Breakfast is one of the most important meals to eat during the day.
• Breakfast foods and beverages give you the energy and nutrition you need to run, jump, play, think and learn.
• Eating breakfast helps you to grow and to be strong.
• Tasting a variety of foods/beverages can be fun and helps you to try and enjoy a variety of different foods/beverages; how much of them you have, and how often you have them for breakfast is important.

Generally, the recommendations for each food group include:

Grains: Make at least half your grains whole grains.

Vegetables: Vary your veggies – try to choose vegetables from several subgroups (orange vegetables, dark green vegetables, etc.) each day.

Fruits: Focus on fruits – eat a variety of fruits.

Milk: Get your calcium-rich foods – choose fat-free or low fat most often.

Meat & Beans: Go lean with protein – choose lean meat and poultry. Vary your choices – include more fish, beans, peas, nuts, and seeds.

“Shoot for the moon! Even if you miss you will land among the stars!”-Les Brown