OCCPTA Health and Safety

Summer is here and it is time to enjoy the fun and sun. If your fun takes you in or around water, please make sure you and your family is staying water safe.

When out on the lakes, rivers, and open seas, ensure that every person on board has a properly fitted life jacket...AND THAT THEY WEAR IT! The jacket does no good if you are in the water and the jacket is in the boat.

For those that don't know how to swim, learning can be a great way to cool off from the summer heat. Find a course and enroll today. In a state that has water on three sides of it, everyone should be able to swim.

Finally, don't forget to hydrate. Plain water is best when you feel thirsty. Should you decide to have juice or soda, you might want to keep them to a minimum. One could always keep a balance of 2 oz. or water for each oz. of anything else.

Stay safe and have a great summer!

By Sally Squires
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 26, 2007; A03

A prestigious scientific panel urged the government yesterday
to ban soft drinks, sugary snacks and other junk food from
schools, saying the typical fare available in vending machines,
at snack bars and at class birthday parties is contributing to
the growing obesity of America's children.
The Institute of Medicine report, which Congress requested,
said less-nutritious items should be replaced with healthier
stuff such as fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. It
emphasized adding snacks with more whole grains and less
sodium, saturated fat and added sugar.

Federal officials recently proposed raising the nutritional
standards for school lunches or breakfasts, but the recommendations issued yesterday are the first national attempt to address the healthfulness of "competitive" school foods -- snacks and drinks that often are sold to raise money for schools.

In place of potato chips, chocolate bars and other popular snacks, the report said, schools should sell healthier options such as apples, carrot sticks, raisins, low-sugar cereals, whole-grain tortilla chips, granola bars and nonfat yogurt with no more than 30 grams of added sugar.
The proposed guidelines also urge limiting the calorie content of snacks and drinks -- to no more than 200 per portion -- and switching to items that contain no trans fats, lower levels of sugar and sodium, and no more than 35 percent of calories from fat, less than 10 percent from saturated fat.

The report by the institute, a branch of the National Academies, also urged eliminating sports drinks, soft drinks and caffeinated drinks. Instead, the guidelines call for schools to provide free, safe drinking water or give
students the opportunity to buy nonfat or low-fat milk or limited amounts of 100 percent juice.
After hours, high schools would be allowed to sell less nutritious snacks and drinks such as baked potato chips,
whole-wheat pretzels, seltzer water or caffeine-free diet soda.
But the committee recommended against making fortified water available and urged that sports drinks be
available only at the discretion of coaches and for students who engage in an hour or more of vigorous activity.
The recommendations will help the food industry by providing "a uniform set of guidelines that can be accepted
throughout states and agencies for competitive school foods," said Dennis M. Bier, chairman of the institute's
Food and Nutrition Board and a member of the committee of experts that drafted the report.
The Agriculture Department, which sets the standards for school lunches, has no authority to regulate snacks,
but nine senators are co-sponsoring the Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act to give the
USDA that power. If passed, school districts would be required to meet the guidelines or face fines or loss of
school-lunch funding.

"For the first time, we have gold standard recommendations for school nutrition standards from one of
America's most distinguished scientific bodies," said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), a lead sponsor of the bill with
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). "And as it turns out, they are just common sense -- promoting fruit and
vegetable consumption and also seeking to reduce things like calories, fat and sodium."
The measure has been endorsed by the American Cancer Society, the American Dietetic Association, the
National PTA and the National Education Association. A matching bill is expected to be filed in the House.
"Legislation is never easy," said Margo Wootan, nutrition policy director at the Center for Science in the Public
Interest, an advocacy group that supports the bill. "We have more than 100 health groups signed on. We're
getting education groups. We're getting good responses from Republican offices, and we've started negotiations
with the food industry that probably lays out standards that they can live with. . . . I think that the prospects are
pretty good."
"Children eat 30 to 50 percent of their calories at schools on school days," Wootan said. "When parents send
their kids to school with lunch money, they don't want to worry that it will be spent on Cheetos and Gatorade."
Susan K. Neely, president of the American Beverage Association, said the report "puts an important focus on
school nutrition, and we agree. In fact, our industry is already changing the mix of products in schools across
America to cut calories and control portion sizes.
But J. Justin Wilson, an analyst for one food-industry group, the Center for Consumer Freedom, called the
recommendations "misguided food regulation" that threatens to make class birthday parties a thing of the past.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company

Panel Urges Schools To Replace Junk Foods - washingtonpost.com
4/27/2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042500762_pf.html

Florida KidCare is our state’s children’s health insurance program for uninsured children under age 19. It is made up of four parts: MediKids, Healthy Kids, the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) Network for children with special health care needs, and Medicaid for children. When you apply for the insurance, Florida KidCare will check which program your child may be eligible for based on age and family income.

For more information visit www.floridakidcare.org and to apply go to www.healthykids.org/apply/

On Saturday, May 20, the Fire Rescue Department will hold a CPR for Citizens Program that teaches citizens basic life support for emergencies. Class is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Barnett Park Recreation Center, 4801 West Colonial Dr., Orlando. The program is offered in English and Spanish and will include Adult and Pediatric CPR. Note *Pre-registration is required for attendance.

Fire Rescue firefighters and paramedics will teach the American Heart Association curriculum called, “CPR for Friends and Family.” The CPR for Citizens program provides CPR instruction to residents who wish to know what to do in an emergency. Statistics prove that the ability to successfully revive patients in cardiac arrest depends heavily on whether or not the patient has received CPR prior to the arrival of emergency responders. The program is not designed to meet requirements for employment; the course has no test and there is no course completion card.

The Fire Rescue Department holds CPR for Citizens classes at regular intervals throughout Orange County. Citizens interested in attending the next CPR for Citizens class can visit www.ocfrd.com. For more information call Luis Garcia-Mercado, Life Safety Education Bureau at 407-836-9886.

This is the time to review your emergency plans and gather your supplies. 2006 is the first year there will be a sales tax exemption for certain items. It might be a good idea to take advantage of this exemption early. Many stores are fully stocked right now, but as the season goes on, the shelves might not be as well stocked.

Visit the Florida Department of Revenue website for information on items that qualify for this sales tax exemption.

As you prepare for hurricane season please find out about a recent smoke alarm recall. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml06/06151.html

Saturday, April 1, 2006 from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm the City of Orlando Citizen Corps and Medical Reserve Corps are partnering with the American Red Cross, and Orange County Citizen Corps, for the Third Annual Mission Possible... A Community Prepared, which will take place at the UCF Downtown Campus (36 W. Pine St.). This is a FREE public event for individuals and families to receive training and prepare for a hurricane or other disaster through five 20-minute interactive presentations. Participants will receive hands-on training in the five disaster preparedness steps:

1. Make a plan
2. Build a kit
3. Get trained
4. Volunteer
5. Give blood (optional)

Sessions begin at 10 a.m., then every half hour until 1:30 p.m. and last approximately two and one half hours. Space is limited, so please RSVP by contacting Jennifer Njenga at 407-894-4141 ext.5630 or jennifern@centralfl-redcross.org by March 27.

It appears that throughout the county school traffic zones differ not only in size, but also signage. Please write back to me and tell me about your school zone. Is it too big or too small? Do you have a school traffic zone at your school?

Your response will be compiled with other responses as I examine the issue of safety around our school traffic zones. You can e-mail me at ptafamilychair@msn.com

OCPS in an effort to better understand safety concerns for middle/high schooler would like your input with an online survey. Please visit www.ocps.net and go to Related Links. You should see the Secondary School SAFE Survey. The survey will be available until February 28, 2006.

These responses will help prioritize safety-related projects and programs in OCPS schools. A presentation of the survey results will be available at the Superintendent's Annual Safety Summit on April 5, 2006, at the Rosen Centre.

Free, interactive event to increase emergency preparedness. The American Red Cross of Central Florida, City of Orlando Citizen Corps and Medical Reserve Corps, Orange County Citizen Corps and Florida's Blood Centers are partnering for the Second Annual Mission Possible: A Community Prepared.

The Westin Grand Bohemian Orlando will host the event at 325 South Orange Avenue on Saturday, November 12 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Event sessions will begin at 10 a.m., 10:40 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 12 p.m., 12:40 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. and last approximately three hours. Beverages and snacks will be provided.

Space is limited, so please RSVP by contacting Adolfina Ortiz at 321-235-5437 or Adolfina.Ortiz@cityoforlando.net by November 9.