Our community is facing a frightening crisis involving the health and fitness of our children. Alabama ranks second in obesity in our country. Our FCCLA Chapter has decided it is time to do something to address this critical issue. We decided on our project, “Team Up for Good Health.” The program would focus on eleventh and twelfth grade students at Wenonah High School. We wanted to plan and implement a project that would be fun for teenagers and would also address some specific issues that affect their health and wellness. We wanted our classmates to become more physically active and make nutritious food choices.
Chapter members had fun planning the activities. Members served nutritious breakfasts and gave flyers about the benefits of breakfast. We did demonstrations on nutritious snacks and provided students with a snack cookbook. We even gave energy packs to our student athletes. We presented a Power point presentation on the “Choose your Plate” program and gave students handouts to use as guidelines for healthy eating. Chapter members also held a physical fitness session using the Wii exercise program to teach students that fitness could be fun.
“Team Up for Good Health” was a huge success. Students seem to enjoy our presentations and really seemed to learn something. This project was also a great way to get the positive message out about FCCLA and family and consumer sciences. “Team Up for Good Health” was a positive experience for students, teachers, FCCLA members and the community.
LOCAL STUDENTS SPEAK OUT CYBER BULLYING
Everyday millions of people log in to social media networks to share their activities with their friends. They use their cell phones constantly to stay connected with family and friends. But, for many, it means fear, anxiety, and just other people being mean to them. This form of bullying, called cyber bullying is the worst form of bullying because the bully is faceless. Many times you don’t even know who is saying and doing all of the cruel things. What makes it so bad is that it is happening in our own schools and communities.
Takiria Lee and Jade Traylor, senior FCCLA members at Wenonah High School, wanted to address this issue. They decided it was time to speak out against cyber bullying…to reach out to their peers and give them the information they need to address this issue and ensure that they use technology in a safe and responsible way. We wanted teens in our school to know what to do to prevent cyber bullying and to recognize the warning signs of someone that is being victimized.
For these reasons, Takiria and Jade prepared a presentation, through their FCCLA chapter, on the problems teenagers face with cyberbullying. They made this presentation to the Wenonah High School AP classes. In their presentation, they also discussed how involvement in FCCLA, a youth organization that focuses on the family, can help to address this issue. Because of the growing concerns of teenagers concerning cyber bullying and the rising number of suicides caused by cyber bullying, they felt that this was a problem that needed immediate attention. For this reason, they have planned similar presentations with other school and community groups.
Takiria and Jade will also make this presentation at the FCCLA State STAR Events in Montgomery on March 14.
