Last Sunday one of our local Scout Troops got the chance to slice, dice and bake their way into a merit badge.  Inspired by the Young Chefs Academy participation at the Get Up & Go Kick-Off, these young girls got a chance to sharpen their skills in a professional kitchen.  (See the pictures in our Get Up & Go Slideshow, click here.)  With good nutrition and healthy eating habits being so important to overall health and fitness, the Academy has become a major partner in the Get Up & Go Campaign.

Whether children come after school, on a field trip or for a special event, the Young Chefs Academy classes are designed for different age groups to provide an experience that’s appropriate for the age of the child. The classes feature: cooking and baking techniques, food preparation, proper food handling, kitchen safety, presentation, table setting and manners, taste-testing and rating of the culinary creations and lessons on history and culture of the recipes.  Each class experiences hands-on preparation of one or two recipes and there are monthly themes with different recipes each week.

Chef's Ann and Mel make the learning experience a fun experience mixing the importance of aprons, hats and proper food handling with the excitement of creating food in different shapes and sizes.  This is the perfect opportunity for classes, groups or even parties of children to have fun and learn some important lessons in food and nutrition. As a special contribution to the Get Up & Go Campaign, Young Chef's plan to have a hands-on demonstration for children at the Get Up & Go Fitness Celebration on May 10th at Belleville West High School. You can find out more about Young Chef's at their website www.YoungChefsAcademy.com       

Schools Sign Up to Give Get Up & Go a Great Start.

Schools across St. Clair County have signed up with the Get Up & Go Health and Fitness Campaign and given it a great start.  From a First Grade class at Scott Elementary School to the entire Belleville West High School, the number of students that have joined this health and fitness campaign so far is in excess of 4,000... and growing daily.  At the annual Dr. Scrivner Foundation dinner this week, Dr. Rita Arras, PhD, to a moment during her speech to comment on the overwhelming support that the schools have shown for this program.  "With child obesity now listed as a national epidemic, our first goal has to be to encourage healthy diet and an active lifestyle in our children.  We must Get Up and Go!"  Later that evening while introducing the guest speaker (and our own Honorary Chairman) Craig Virgin, she again noted, "the response from the schools and teachers has been completely overwhelming."  These sentiments were echoed by Craig Virgin and several of the other dignitaries at the dinner.

While some schools are using the Get Up & Go campaign to reinforce the activities and health awareness that is already part of their curriculum, others are planning major events to bring the message home with their students.  According to Joe Ballard, Scott Elementary School is planning a day of fitness testing, similar to the Presidential fitness program, and a school wide Get Up & Go walk dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyle choices.  Bob Dahm, principal at Belleville West High School has informed us that they will be sponsoring the 2008 Race for Character at Belleville West on May 10th and has invited Get Up & Go to join the activities that day by celebrating the Get Up & Go Recognition party after the race on the Belleville West campus.  While the details are still being worked out, it looks as though a thousand or more people could be on hand for a day long celebration of fun, fitness and healthy lifestyles.

But the participation isn't limited to just whole schools and major events.  Many classes from around the county have joined in with their own Get Up & Go programs.  Some are using the "Name the Mascot" contest as way to focus on health and fitness in the classroom, and have fun doing it.  Others have created their own fitness program as part of the campaign and are logging their efforts to share with the reat of us.  Miss Suzanna Phelps 1st grade class at Scott Elementary has reported that in addition to participating in the contest, "We are walking each day for 10 to 15 minutes and logging the miles we walk on the Walk Across Illinois website.  On bad weather days we are doing balance activities in the classroom."

"It's so wonderful to see such a diverse response from the schools."  According to Mark Peters, "We have had schools sign up from Marissa to Belleville, from Scott AFB to Swansea, and from first grade to high school.  I really think that we have a chance of getting nearly every school in the county involved, and that would be incredible!" We'll if this week is any indication, we might just see that happen.