Course:LFS350/Projects/F2019/WindermereCooking

From UBC Wiki

Project Title

After School Elementary Cooking Programs

Organization Name

Windermere Community Schools Team with the Vancouver School Board

Keywords

Food literacy, youth leadership, food skills, tri-mentoring

Related Course Concepts

Food security, Asset based community development, Social class/income inequality, Cultural identities

Organization Information

Organization Name

Windermere Community Schools Team with the Vancouver School Board

Mission and Vision of Organization

The Vancouver Board of Education’s Windermere Community Schools Team (CST) is currently seeking a Cooking Program Leaders to support vulnerable elementary and secondary students during out of school time (OST) in schools located in the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood. Our large, urban and multicultural school district provides programs to over 50,000 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 and over 2,000 adults in adult education programs. Serving our diverse district in 110 facility sites, our programs and services are designed to address both complex challenges and extraordinary opportunities.

Guiding Principles + Values

  • Our CST cooking programs are based in food and nutrition with the focus of providing inclusive programming to vulnerable populations.
  • We reduce barriers to participation by providing affordable and accessible programs at our elementary school sites.
  • We support the well-being of students by fostering social and emotional learning and implementing universal design for learning approaches.
  • Using a tri-mentorship approach, we encourage the growth of youth volunteers and leaders in the facilitation of programs.

Contact Information

Preferred Method of Contact

  • Best method(s) to contact: Email
  • Best day(s) to contact: Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
  • Best time(s) to contact: Mornings, Afternoons

Project Description

As a Program Leader with the Windermere Community Schools Team, you will work collaboratively to prepare and facilitate elementary cooking programs with secondary school student volunteers. You will facilitate at least one of these cooking programs per term which runs for 6-8 weeks duration. With support from the Community Schools Coordinator, you will have direction over recipe selection, lesson planning, material and ingredient purchasing and preparation. Facilitating the elementary cooking program, you will support students to engage in cooking preparation and activities, while maintaining a cleanly and food safe environment. Student participation and well-being is paramount to the success of the program. Any behaviour challenges will be communicated with the Community Schools Coordinator so that a responsive approach can be provided to any behaviour concerns.

What challenge or issue does the project aim to address?

We aim to provide inclusive programming, which means there will be diverse learners in the program. We want to ensure all students are able to participate meaningfully, in a safe, fun and inclusive environment. While the program is themed around food and nutrition, our primary mandate is to support the well-being of students to build friendship, engage meaningfully in their school community and develop social, emotional and educational skills.

Student Assets and Skills (preferred or required)

  • Experience with children and/or youth
  • Communication and teamwork skills

Student Assets and Skills (to be developed through the project)

  • Experience with recipe planning, menu creation, food purchasing and preparation, lesson planning, and children's program facilitation
  • Speaking another language other than English (Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Arabic, etc.)

Is a criminal record check required?

Yes

If a criminal record check is required, when should the process be initiated?  

At the first community partner meeting (September 18, 2019)

Project Location

Windermere Secondary CST office room 209

Preferred Days of Week and Hours

  • Cooking programs could be offered Mondays, Tuesdays, or Thursdays after school.
  • Program Leaders are required to come into the Windermere CST office at 2:30pm before going to the elementary school for 3pm.
  • Programs run from 3:15pm-4:30 with de-brief and clean-up continuing until 5pm.

Project/Partner Orientation Materials

Students should review these materials prior to the first partner meeting:

  • About the Community Schools Team
  • Cullen, T. et. al (2015). Food literacy: Definition and framework for action. Perspectives in practice, vol. 76. DOI: 10.3148/cjdpr-2015-010
  • Janhonen, K., Mäkelä, J., Palojoki, P. (2016). Food education: From normative models to promoting agency. In J. Sumner (Ed.), Learning, food, and sustainability: Sites for resistance and change, pp. 93-110. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. Available from UBC Library
  • Rice, S. & Rud, A.G. (Eds.) (2018). Educational dimensions of school lunch: Critical perspectives. DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72517-8. (Students should read the Introduction prior to the first community partner meeting)

If interested

Related Community Service Opportunities for Students

LFS students are welcome to apply to continue to be a volunteer in the following Winter and Spring terms.

Expected Outcomes

Learning Outcomes

I hope students will learn about...

  • how to plan, prepare and facilitate food and nutrition programs for elementary aged children. Skills developed hopefully will include group management, listening techniques, behaviour support, activity facilitation, food safe with children and working on a team.

I think students will come to appreciate...

  • our approach to supporting the well-being of vulnerable students, behavioural needs and inclusive programming.

Through this project, students will develop...

  • greater capacity for working with children including program facilitation and developing cooking lesson planning, recipe development considering age appropriateness, time management, youth mentorship, food insecurity, food-related health considerations, accessibility

Organizational Outcomes

Intended Project (Short Term) Outcome

  • Elementary school students in our neighbourhood have increased access to meaningful after school programming.
  • Youth leaders are better supported in the development of leadership skills, gaining experience working with children and engaging in the facilitation of a meaingful after school program.
  • We do not have any learning outcome requirements specific to food and nutrition; however, we do have the intention to increase children's experiences and understanding of preparing food.

Medium Term Outcomes

If the student project is part of a larger project at your organization, how will the students' work contribute to the goals of this larger project?

  • Our cooking programs are one of a suite of after school programming provided at 6 elementary schools within our Windermere family of schools. This program will contribute towards our overall goals of providing safe, meaningful and inclusive after school programming in the Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhood.

How does the student project contribute to your organization's mission and long-term vision?

  • Providing engaging, meaningful, accessible and affordable opportunities for students to engage in their school community and gain the sense that "I belong here." The project contributes to Windermere's long term goals by promoting social responsibility and youth volunteer involvement. Through community based experiential learning, and opportunities to actively engage in local/global issues, we push students to integrate their past, present, and dreams for the future; resulting in a realm of potential, where a student’s values, experiences, and knowledge, direct academic pursuits and future goals.
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