Albert Gallatin students have educational programs come to them
Chef instructor Charles Walsh stood in his kitchen at the New York Institute of Technology, Culinary Arts Center while the third-grade class at Friendship Hill Elementary School in the Albert Gallatin School District watched him attentively. They were hundreds of miles apart – the instructor in Old Westbury, N.Y., and the students in Springhill Township – yet Walsh was able to give the children a lesson called “Healthy Choices for Healthy Living.’ And this wasn’t a pre-taped video. Both sides saw each other via a large screen thanks to modern technology.
“It’s just like watching television, except you can talk to me and I can talk to you,’ Walsh told the students.
Virtual field trips are now part of the Albert Gallatin Area School District curriculum, using live video and sound that permit interactive communication through to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development Utility Programs-Telecom and a grant from Intermediate Unit 1 for distance learning.
“We can go to the zoo, to the baseball Hall of Fame. When we take a virtual field trip, we can talk to someone 3,000 miles away,’ said Renee Rosie, who serves with Leya Dean as computer literacy teachers/building technology coordinators for the district.
The women work with Steve Smolenski, technology coordinator for the district, to set up and conduct these field trips. Rosie, Dean and Smolenski were present at Friendship Hill for the field trip, but eventually school staff will be able to handle these on their own.
Albert Gallatin’s first virtual field trip took place in March, when all second-grade students in the district participated in “Science Behind Dinosaurs in their World’ by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh. Dean noted the Carnegie Museum sent a kit with replicas of dinosaur fossils to each school for the children to see and touch while the lesson was taking place. The kits are on permanent loan to the schools.
Then, high school history students took a virtual field trip to the Holocaust Memorial/Education Center of Nassau County, N.Y., in a program called “Heroes of the Holocaust,’ which allowed the students to talk to a Holocaust survivor.
This month, high school students are to take part in a program called “Coal is Why They Came,’ provided by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The “Healthy Choices’ field trip was presented to all the third-grade students in the district elementary schools: Friendship Hill, Smithfield, A.L. Wilson, Masontown, D. Ferd Swaney and George Plava. Officials conducted the program one school at a time.
Dean said of “Healthy Choices,’ “We chose this because of the Governor’s Fitness Challenge. Albert Gallatin is really involved in getting kids to promote healthy lifestyles.’
Some of the virtual field trips, such as the dinosaur program, are free, while others charge a fee, such as the New York Institute, which cost $150 per session.
“It’s still a good deal when you think about how busy the school year is and the costs to go to New York,’ said Dean.
“How many kids do we teach who haven’t been out of western Pennsylvania?’ asked Rosie. “So for them, it’s cool – I’m going to New York today.’
During the New York Institute field trip, Walsh stressed learning to the students who gathered for the presentation at Friendship Hill.
“Do you know a lot about something called nutrients? Do you know what some are?’ he asked the students, explaining, “…We want to bring more of some things into our diet and less of other things.’
When asked what they might want to take out of their diets, Walsh pointed to a stick of butter and the students quickly picked up on his clue.
But when he asked, “Butter is?’ the students appeared stumped. So Walsh turned sideways and patted his belly and said, “I’m trying to help you out.’
The students laughed and quickly found the answer.
Walsh and the students discussed the importance of water, vitamins, minerals, calcium, protein, fat and carbohydrates while the chef instructor prepared several healthy but kid-friendly recipes, including chicken nuggets, made with a coating of crushed low-fat, baked potato chips; spinach and mushroom quesadillas, which was an alternative grilled cheese sandwiches; salsa, made with no added salt; and a fat-free fruit parfait.
The students watched eagerly as Walsh went through the steps of each recipe, talking and asking questions in return. They discussed nutrition labels, the importance of hand washing, learned a little culture in the recipe choices for the Mexican foods and talked about good bacteria found in yogurt.
The students also were able to actively participate in the lesson as they made their own fruit parfait with fresh fruit and fat-free yogurt, whipped topping and sweetened, condensed milk at their school while Walsh made one at his.
School officials and parent volunteers, including Julie Mankins, Becky Urani and her son, James; Tonya Lincoln and Nadine Lisauckis helped the children make enough for the entire class. Helpers included Tyler Hammack, who said, “It was fun mixing and putting all the stuff in bowls.’
Kyle Little commented, “It was pretty fun. I like mixing all the stuff.’
Shelby Fowler said, “I wish we could do this more often with the recipes.’
Connor Omalacy said, “It was fun. It tells you how to get stronger and eat better.’
And they all agreed the fruit parfait tasted “good.’
Principal Tim Krupa noted the virtual field trip supports the emphasis the district has been making on health and wellness, and was proud of the way the students participated in the lesson.
He said, “Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it was possible to talk to someone in New York like this and have them talk back. It’s amazing.’
Judy Psenicska, director of curriculum and instruction for Albert Gallatin, thinks the idea of virtual field trips is outstanding.
“They’ll go home and think about what they did today. They’ll talk about it at dinner and they’ll tell their own children about this,’ she said. “It’s a lesson they’ll take with them. Years ago, I never thought we could do anything like this. Their children will do things even more advanced.’