As educators we aim to inspire a generation of students to build a healthy relationship with food. But, it’s not always easy for educators to keep up with the latest nutrition news, since the science changes quickly and food fads come and go. Do you have the necessary knowledge to teach nutrition to your students? How can you separate fact from fiction? Ask a dietitian! This hour-long session is an open Q-and-A format with a dietitian, an elementary and a secondary educator, where you can ask nutrition questions, confirm or expose long-held nutrition beliefs; explore teaching ideas, and leave feeling empowered to help inspire your students. Nutrition is about more than just what we eat. It’s also about why, how, where and who we eat with. From the health benefits of sharing family meals to the detriments of labeling foods as “good” or “bad,” you will learn interesting nutrition facts to broaden your own food knowledge so you can confidently teach about it.
The session will be connected to the Ontario Health and Physical Education (H&PE) (grades 1-8 and 9-12) curricula and focus on:
- Examining how, why, where and what we eat, grounded in Canada’s Food Guide
- Exposing nutrition myths and facts, from carbs to fad diets to superfoods
- Exploring how personal food biases may influence your nutrition lessons
- Building healthy dietary patterns, healthy body image and good self-esteem
- Discussing how to support a physically and emotionally safe school environment that fosters healthy eating and mindfulness during COVID-19
Presenters
Andrea Barrow is a Health & Physical Education teacher with the Limestone District School Board in Kingston. She is an Ophea Ambassador and a member of the Ontario Physical Activity Safety Standards in Education committee. Andrea is a certified Fitness Instructor, Personal Trainer, Nutrition and Wellness Specialist, and Yoga teacher. She shares her passion for fitness at school and within her community through involvement in fitness programs and coaching.
Andrea Haefele is a Health & Physical Education teacher in the York Region District School Board. She is also an Ophea Ambassador and an Ontario Association for the Support of Physical and Health Educators (OASPHE) member. Andrea has been part of many regional and provincial initiatives that support the Health & Physical Education curriculum, Healthy Schools, and also Daily Physical Activity. She is a strong advocate for quality H&PE programming for all students of all abilities. Andrea uses “she, her, hers” pronouns, and asks others to use these pronouns in reference to her.
Cara Rosenbloom RD is a Toronto-based dietitian with 20 years of experience. She began her career as a dietitian at The Hospital for Sick Children, and started her own nutrition communications company, Words to Eat By, in 2007. She’s a professional public speaker; nutrition writer with the Washington Post; and co-author of Food to Grow On: The Ultimate Guide to Childhood Nutrition--From Pregnancy to Packed Lunches (Random House 2021). She’s also raising her own healthy eaters with her husband, Scott; her daughter is 13 and her son is 9.
Note: The original webinar date was November 18, 2020.
A recap blog post is available for this webinar.