MOOSE JAW — A.E. Peacock Collegiate plans to enhance its nutrition-focused initiatives so students have access to healthier options throughout the year thanks to a grant from The Mosaic Company.
The potash company recently announced the 10 schools that would each receive $15,000 through its Mosaic School Nutrition Challenge. The program began in 2006 to encourage grassroots initiatives to help improve student nutrition.
On the list were Peacock and the still-under-construction Our Lady of Hope Catholic School. The former plans to focus on curricular integration, locally sourced foods and a reconciliation project, while the latter plans to focus on a universal breakfast program, community cooking classes and nutrition workshops.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity we have to implement some new programs for our students and focus on nutrition and to help them learn some new skills,” said Tana Arnott, Peacock’s principal.
The school plans to upgrade its kitchen so students have after-school opportunities to learn about planning healthy meals, cooking those foods and taking home those dishes for their families, she explained.
Furthermore, school administration plans to enhance the outside learning garden by installing either irrigation or sprinklers so the space produces more fruits and vegetables throughout the summer, which students can harvest in the fall to create meals.
The school will also look at providing more nutritional opportunities throughout the year by creating soups and vegetable meals and enhancing a daily muffin program.
“This year, we harvested quite a few vegetables that we were able to use in our foods program and so we’re looking at making that a little more sustainable,” said Arnott.
“It’s hard in the summer, especially with the heat we get, to have the manpower to water regularly,” she continued. “So, we’re looking at upgrading a few things in that space so it’s a little bit more sustainable and it can produce a bit more vegetables than what we’ve been able to do in the past due to the weather.”
Meanwhile, the school’s Mental Health and Capacity Building team — which applied for the grant — wants to pursue a reconciliation-focused project by engaging residents, promoting “equity and respect” and establishing a Truth and Reconciliation Commission group to ensure the nutrition program reflects families’ cultural values, added Arnott.
This means elders would come talk about cultural foods and practices, such as making Bannock and foraging off the land.
The school’s No. 1 concern is ensuring students are fed daily, along with teaching them everything that goes into growing and cooking foods, Arnott said. Many students enjoy the foods program, since it allows teachers to discuss this topic, nutrition, and budgeting for groceries.
The price of most foods has increased, so the program aims to teach students how to, for example, divide 10 pounds of vegetables into smaller, nutritional meals, so youths can be creative once they graduate, she continued.
The school could receive the grant in the fall, the principal added.
Show and Shine
Peacock Collegiate’s annual Show and Shine is making its return after being on hiatus since 2019. The event takes place on Thursday, May 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. at 145 Ross Street East. Entry is by donation and car aficionados — especially school graduates — are encouraged to show off their rides.
The school will use the proceeds to restore a 1981 Pontiac Firebird, which requires some refurbishments to operate on Moose Jaw’s streets.
This event will also allow the autobody students — who were eager to bring back the show — to display their cars, which they have been diligently working on throughout the year.
