The Queensland Food Box 2013

What is the Good Food Box?

The Good Food Box (GFB) makes top-quality, fresh fruit and vegetables available in a way that does not stigmatize people, fosters community development and promotes healthy eating.

How does it work?

 

The GFB gives people in Calgary and surrounding areas a way to buy fresh fruit and vegetables at a very low cost. A hands-up as opposed to a hands-out program, the GFB operates by buying bulk quantities of fresh, top-quality produce directly from farmers and distributors through the Food n More program. The boxes, which are delivered according to a city-wide and surrounding areas schedule, contain the maximum produce possible for the price.

 

Participants pre-order their boxes from centralized locations in their communities. Once a month the boxes are delivered by community kitchen staff and dedicated volunteers to each depot. Depots include churches, community centers, senior centers, apartment complexes, etc. Currently there are 160 depots in Calgary and surrounding areas, 70 of which are public.

The boxes come in three sizes:

Small: $20, 25-30lbs, Medium: $25, 35-40lbs, Large: $30, 45-50lbs

 

 

~Orders for the Queensland Good Food Box can be made through the Queensland Community Hall
~ Payment for the Good Food Box is due on or before order date and can be made in cash and left at the hall with Linda Brown

~ All food boxes for the Queensland area are delivered to the Queensland Community Hall

~ Delivery time is not set so you will receive a phone call when they arrive

~ Your Good Food Box Must be picked up on the day of delivery

~ Please leave a contact number with your order

~The Queensland Good Food Box Depot operates October to June

 

 

Order Deadlines: Feb 26, Mar 18, Apr 15, May 6, Jun 10

Pick Up Dates: Mar 7, Mar 28, Apr 25, May 16, Jun 20

Thank you Amber V. for the information!

 

 

 

Making Healthy Food Choices as a Family

Last Wednesday, Chatelaine‘s health editor Laurie Jennings was on Cityline, sharing tips for incorporating more nutrients into your daily menus. Some of her excellent suggestions included serving raw veggies with a healthy dip (kids will eat 80% more veggies if dip is also served), adding fibre (such as bulgar) to your meatball recipe, making a vegetarian "meat" sauce and having theme nights (from Mexican to Japanese to Indian) because they allow for different foods and nutrients.

Read more ideas and/or watch the short video here.

Head Lice

Yikes! Not my kid! Pediculus humanus capitis or "head lice" seems to be that dreaded condition that parents hope never comes home with their child.  In the event that your little one catches the "bug," there are important steps to take for treatment and prevention of it spreading.  Although your family doctor and Alberta Health Services are the best sources of information and treatment for head lice, here are a few guidelines I found from www.kidshealth.org. 

* your doctor can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. It's important to follow the directions exactly because these products are insecticides.
*after treatment, your doctor may suggest combing out the nits with a fine-tooth comb and also may recommend repeating treatment in 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched nits
*wash all bed linens and clothing that's been recently worn by anyone in your home who's infested in very hot water (130° F [54.4° C]), then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
*have bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can't be washed dry-cleaned. Or, put them in airtight bags for 2 weeks.
*vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car).
*soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You can also wash them in hot water or just throw them away.
*don't shampoo hair before applying lice medication
*don't wash your child's hair for 1 to 2 days after using a medicated treatment
*tell kids to try to avoid head-to-head contact at school (in gym, on the playground, or during sports) and while playing at home with other children.
*tell kids not to share combs, brushes, hats, scarves, bandannas, ribbons, barrettes, hair ties or bands, towels, helmets, or other personal care items with anyone else, whether they may have lice or not.
*tell kids not to lie on bedding, pillows, and carpets that have recently been used by someone with lice.
*every 3 or 4 days, examine members of your household who have had close contact with a person who has lice. Then, treat those who are found to have lice or nits close to the scalp.

For information about lice, please click here to visit Alberta Health Services.

Discipline Decline at CBE

In an interview with recently retired Beaverbrook Principal Jeff Turner, he states that early intervention and quick decisive action is the key to a decline in expulsions over the years. According to the article: in 2007/8, principals recommended 364 expulsions system wide in contrast to just 107 last year. Mr. Turner went on to explain that principals weren't adopting a more lassez-faire attitude toward discipline but that there are more tools available for support.

"The big change: students with problems are now being spotted earlier, and worked with long before they derail and are booted from school. As a result, cases of major bad behaviour are dropping."

"What’s different is all the work that’s gone into preventing that student from reaching the point where they must be moved out of the school."

SUTP Expired Coupons

For those of you with SUTP books, great news is that Calgary Co-op and M & M's both accept expired coupons!  If anyone knows of other businesses that accept expired coupons, please comment below with the information!

Minister of Education's Conference Call Tonight

This is a reminder that tonight from 7-9 pm, Education Minister Jeff Johnson will be hosting a teleconference with school councils and parents to continue the discussion about priorities for Alberta's education system.  He will be co-hosting with Brad Vonkeman, President of the Alberta School Councils' Association.

To find out more about the call and to register click here.

From Karen Drummond, Communications Advisor, CBE

Attend a trustee-hosted meeting in February

Trustees will be hosting meetings to learn more about parents' vision for their children's future. School council chairs or designates are welcome to attend the meeting in their area or a meeting in another area. All meetings will be held at area offices.

Area I -- Feb. 6 -- 9:30-11:30 a.m. -- Parkdale Centre, 728 - 32 St. N.W.
Area II -- Feb. 11 -- 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. -- Mount View Centre, 2004 - 4 St. N.E.
Area III -- Feb. 12 -- 7-9 p.m. -- Marlborough School, 4711 Maryvale Dr. N.E.
Area IV -- Feb. 4 -- 7-9 p.m. -- A.E. Cross School, 3445 - 37 St. S.W.
Area V -- Feb. 6 -- 7-9 p.m. -- Haysboro School, 1123 - 87 Ave. S.W.

More information about these meetings will follow soon.

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2013-14 school calendars now available

The Calgary Board of Education has approved the system instructional calendars for the 2013-2014 school year. These calendars are updated from the tentative calendars previously linked to this page.

Read more

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Minister of Education's Jan. 22 conference call with parents and school councils

Education Minister Jeff Johnson and Brad Vonkeman, President of the Alberta School Councils' Association, will be hosting a teleconference with school councils to continue the discussion about priorities for Alberta's education system.

School councils are invited to invite their broader parent community to participate.

The call will take place from 7-9 p.m. on Jan. 22.

Read more

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CAPSC invites parents to attend Jan. 23 meeting

The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils will be hearing from Jillian Drysdale at their meeting this month at A.E. Cross School starting at 7 p.m. She will be discussing her involvement with the Alberta Safe Streets initiative, which aims to extend playground zone hours to include all school start times.

Following her presentation the CAPSC executive will host a conversation on how CAPSC as an organization can aid in promoting communication among school councils. The executive will be looking for opinions on methods that CAPSC can use to facilitate council networking, and will also be looking for your council's success stories with engaging other associations. Finally, CAPSC would like to get membership input towards the creation of guidelines for establishing public positions that best represent the interests of our members.

Read about the November meeting, the CBE Board of Trustees Report and communicating with school families in the latest newsletter.

Learn more

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Nominate teachers and principals for Excellence in Teaching Awards by Feb. 8

At the Calgary Board of Education, we know our teachers and principals are among the best and brightest and we want Alberta to know it too.

Nominate someone today

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Nominate a CBE graduate for the EducationMatters Distinguished Alumni Award
by Jan. 31

This annual award was established to celebrate highly successful alumni of the Calgary Board of Education. The Distinguished Alumni Award is not only a celebration of the achievements of the recipient but also an acknowledgement of the remarkable achievements of public education in Calgary and those involved in public education who contributed to that individual's success.

Nominate someone today

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Stories recently featured on CBE website

Discovering Choices students find their voice as they help guide regulations for cyberbullying

January Lighthouse Award: Calgary Hitmen

Preschool children thrive at new Terrace Road Early
Development Centre

Breakfast program exhibits the spirit of giving all year long

Get your discounted tickets to CBE Hitmen game Jan. 18

Read more

City will test rumble strips as safety measures in playground and school zones

By Renato Gandia ,Calgary Sun

Rumble strips will be tested in select playground and school zones in Calgary as soon as bureaucrats know how much it costs to install them as a road safety measure.

Ald. Jim Stevenson convinced his colleagues that the city should look into using rumble strips and other vehicle-slowing devices to make sure children and parents near playground and school zones are safe.

He told council he consulted the city’s transportation department, the police and roads department on the matter.

“I believe we could do something, at least I’m asking to investigate the possibility of doing something to make drivers aware when they enter a school or playground zone,” he said.

Read the full story here.

Breakfast Program Exhibits Spirit of Giving at a CBE School

"Many Calgary Board of Education programs benefit from the spirit of generosity, not just around the holiday season, but all year long. The CBE is surrounded by a network of teachers, administrators, parents and students working in partnership with community organizations who lend a hand in keeping programs alive by donating money or volunteering their time.

One such program is the West Dover School breakfast program, which is open every morning from 7:30 to 8 a.m., serving up to a thousand breakfasts of fruit, cereal, bread and juice a month. "

Read the rest of the story here.

New Year, New Playground

Happy New Year!

The Haultain Memorial Parent Association is looking for a playground committee to commence as soon as possible.  The playground at Haultain is beginning to show its years, and will need to be replaced.  The process of building a new park is one that can take a number of years, which is why it is important we begin the process immediately.  A good quality, fun, safe and functional playground is an essential community feature and school asset.  In the best interests of our children, students and future students, please consider joining the committee. 

Plan to attend the next Parent Association meeting on Thursday, January 17 at 6:30 pm in the library at Haultain or contact the association using the link at the top right hand side of the page, if you are interested in joining the committee.

Teachers' union rejects merit pay idea

The Alberta Teachers Association is rejecting a suggestion by Education Minister Jeff Johnson of using merit pay using to attract the best teachers to the province.

"He's really open to all ideas that support that, including having a discussion with Albertans about things like merit increases," said ministry spokesperson Leanne Niblock, who added that the idea was raised during the "Inspiring Education" consultations.

But the ATA believes merit pay, which pays teachers based on the results they get from their students, is a bad idea.

Interested in the Association whose member are in charge of your children on a daily basis?

Click here.