Achieve BC | Fall 2005 e-Newsletter

Students of all ages are heading to the classroom at the start of the new school year. Here are some tips from the Ministry of Education to make the transition from summer to school a happy and successful experience for parents and students:   

• If your children are going to a new school, be sure to bring the required information or identification with you on registration day. Confirm what time school starts.  
• Get your children started on their routine before the first day. Consider having them shift to their school bedtime and wake-up routine the week before school begins.
• Choose clothes for school early.  Have them select their outfits the night before.  This helps start the morning on a calm note.
• Find a safe route to school and practise the route with your children. Discuss how to interact safely with strangers.
• Encourage your children to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables for lunch. Let them help pack their lunch so they can learn to make healthy choices early on.
• Help your children get a library card and take weekly trips to the library.
• Get involved in the school community.  Contact your local school board or the parent advisory council at your child’s school for volunteer opportunities.

• Be positive.  Talk to your children about the mixed emotions they may be feeling as the school year approaches.  Remind them of the friends they will meet, the new things they will learn and the fun they will have.
• Review their class schedule with them to make sure all of the classes are correct. 
• Talk to your children about appropriate behaviour at school and what to do if they encounter bullying.
• Set up a homework area away from the TV with adequate supplies and lighting.
• Make sure children always wear a helmet when riding a bicycle or scooter.
• Continue to be involved in the school community.  It’s a great way to get to know your children’s teachers and other parents.

Secondary school students

• Encourage your teenagers to review their schedule and to make an appointment with the counsellor if there are any problems.
• If your teenagers are going to a new school, arrange a visit for them to learn where to find their classrooms, the library, gym and cafeteria.
• Keep an assignment calendar on the fridge for quick reference of due dates, exams and how they fit in with other activities.
• Talk about being a safe driver as well as a safe passenger.  Let them know it’s OK to say no to getting into a car with someone they feel is unsafe.
• Continue to be involved in the school community.

Post-secondary students can find it tough to eat well once they’re living away from home.

Some may have limited storage space or cooking facilities, as well as a tight budget. Others are on their own for the first time, and are new to cooking, shopping and budgeting. Cooking for one can seem more trouble than it’s worth. And making time to prepare meals amid classes, papers, assignments and exams can be challenging.

But eating well is definitely worth the effort. The rewards are better health – and better results in school. And with a little planning and a little practice, you CAN eat well on a student budget.

Here are some pointers on cutting food costs and still eating well:

• Avoid shopping when you’re hungry – you’re likely to buy more than you need.
• Try bulk food. It is often less expensive than packaged foods, and you can choose the amount you want.
• Share purchasing large quantities with your roommates.
• Make a shopping list. Be sure to check what items you already have, and then stick to your list. Don’t be tempted to throw in extras you really don’t need. You can end up buying 50 per cent more than what was on your list if you’re not careful.
• Avoid convenience foods. For example, would you pay someone $80 an hour to grate your cheese? According to nutrition researchers at Arizona State University, that's what you pay if you’re not doing it yourself. The researchers compared the cost of ready-to-eat foods with the time it takes to make the same items from raw ingredients to come up with that frightening figure.
• Store brands and generic products are often less expensive than brand name products with comparable quality. For example, brand name macaroni and cheese is double the price of the generic product.
• Be wary of gimmicks. End-of-aisle displays are not always specials. And that “special” sign doesn’t always mean an item is on sale. Pay attention to the price, not the label.
• Look up and down instead of at eye level when scanning shelves. Expensive national brands are often at eye level.
• Compare prices by the unit to get the best bargain.
• Buy food in jars. Products in squeeze bottles are more expensive and make it difficult to get all the food out of the container.
• Avoid shopping at convenience stores. You’ll pay for the extra convenience. An apple at the grocery store may cost around 30 cents compared with 75 cents at the convenience store!
• Use coupons only for products that you purchase regularly to prevent buying extras you don’t really need.

Home tips:

• Eat breakfast at home or bring it with you. The cost of buying a muffin and a coffee every day can easily add up to $50 per month! But whatever you do, make sure you eat a good breakfast. It provides the energy to refuel your body and mind, increases your intake of fibre, vitamins and minerals, improves memory and performance, and helps control appetite and body weight. To build a balanced breakfast, include foods from at least three of the four food groups in Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.
• Plan snacks and lunches to take to school. This will not only save you money but also provide the energy your body needs to run at peak performance. Choose food from Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating. If most of your meals and snacks come from the “other foods” category – coffee, soft drinks, doughnuts and chips, for example – then you’re likely not getting all the nutrients you need.
• Fill plastic drink containers with juice from home instead of buying it daily.

Extra funding for every licensed child-care provider in the province to help them get ready for the new school year.

A brand new day-care building for the Bridge River Indian Band in Lillooet.

Equipment for a new group day care in Colwood, on Vancouver Island.

Restoration and renovation of a heritage home in Langley, which will create 20 pre-school spaces.

These are among the projects made possible by $8.1 million in one-time funding provided this month to day cares around B.C. – with more investments to come.

In all, the provincial government funding will help create 236 child-care spaces, and improve or retain another 161, in eight B.C. communities, as well as providing about $100 in extra support for every one of the licensed child-care spaces in the province.

Linda Reid, Minister of State for Child Care, made the announcement in Richmond.

“By supporting construction, renovation and expansion projects, we are putting child care within reach for more of the B.C. families that need it most,” Reid said. “Further investments in the system will be possible soon, when we conclude a child-care agreement with the federal government.”

Eleven organizations received the payments from the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s child-care capital funding program.

As well, a one-time boost to operating funding helped child-care providers during the summer, when revenues are typically lower, and gave them extra resources to prepare for the new school year. The extra dollars can be used for such things as professional development, wages and benefits, or stabilizing fees, and will be provided automatically to every licensed child-care provider in the province.

“When young children experience a variety of good learning activities in positive, safe environments, it prepares them for success in school and makes them happier and more confident,” Reid said. “This funding will give child-care providers the freedom to invest in their facilities as they see fit.”