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| Ginn Academy's Cooking Club with advisor, Terrika Kelley |
We checked in recently with Ms. Terrika Kelley, HealthCorps coordinator for Ginn Academy, about her popular Cooking Club and we thank her for writing the following story for the blog:
Cooking Club was started to inform and empower students to make healthier decisions about what they eat and how they prepare it. Having a cooking club at Ginn Academy helps to fill the void of not having a Home Economics class. The Cooking Club grade levels include 9-12th with the involvement of roughly 15 students. Every semester, students are chosen in a different manner depending on the response. This semester, students were tasked to complete a serious of questions and activities. The first 15 students who completed the task in a timely manner with correct answers were chosen.
The only requirement is to come in with an open mind and be willing to try anything at least once. Students look forward to meeting up with one another and sharing a meal. They absolutely LOVE to invite Mr. Petty (our principal) in each week to try what they’ve prepared! Cooking Club members leave weekly having learned a new recipe and the skills needed to prepare it at home.
Ginn Academy is also a second year award winnter of the Healthy School Award given by the Alliance for a Heathier Generation. The award is quite competitive and schools must be deemed “healthy” by completing a check list of items to include healthy school lunch, staff and student wellness, physical activity, classroom instruction, and community involvement. (See last photo, below.)
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| One of our Cooking Club students pages through the cookbook used for that day's meal |
For this particular Cooking Club shown in the photos, the boys chopped vegetables for the sauce and simmered it while they mixed and formed meatballs and cooked the whole wheat pasta. They each have a job and at the end of the meal, they take turns cleaning up tables and dishes.
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| Coach Ginn joins the group for lunch sometimes |
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| Ms. Terrika Kelley, HealthCorps coordinator and Cooking Club advisor |
Thank you, as always, for your support of Ginn Academy! Happy cooking and eating to all!
