CURRENT OFSHEEA NEWS

The Ontario Home Economics Association (OHEA), the Ontario Family Studies and Home Economics Educators’ Association (OFSHEEA), and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) have sent a letter to Ontario Premier Doug Ford regarding federal funding for the expansion for school food in Ontario. We urge Premier Doug Ford to sign on to the National School Food Program established by the federal Government.

As Family Studies educators, we understand at both a theoretical and practical level how essential it is for students to have sufficient and complete nutrition in order to learn at their best. We hope that the Government of Ontario will recognize that our participation in the National School Food program presents an opportunity to invest in “a healthier, more equitable future for all children in Ontario”.

We are encouraging all our members to participate in Ministry of Education consultations on life skills in Ontario! Please use the link button to be directed to the survey where you can submit your responses.

We have been asked to share the following information with our members:

“TVO is looking for a teacher writer to work on a digital teacher-led HIP4O course. As a teacher writer, this would be an opportunity to share your expertise and design the course in a new platform to support teachers and learners.  It is a contract for service position.  This means that you would be writing the course on top of your daily teaching schedule. You would be writing a 4-unit course, meeting all specific expectations from the curriculum document in engaging, rigorous and informative ways. There would be support provided for you from a team here at TVO including a Curriculum Manager, a course reviewer and an equity reviewer.  If you have questions along the way, folks at the Ministry can support us getting the answers you need about curriculum guidelines. The compensation is $10,000.00 for the course, which would include writing educational content as well as assessments and a teacher’s guide. The timeline for writing the content would be approximately 3 months.

 

If interested, please reach out to Valerie Lucic – vlucic@tvo.org at your earliest convenience.”

Dear Family Studies Educators, 

We’re nearly there! We’ve almost done it! Just a few days to that sweet summer freedom – or at lest a change of pace for those of us who will be busy with summer school or summer courses. Whatever you’re planning, we know that we’ll inevitably be looking forward to September…okay, maybe not in the first few weeks! But OFSHEEA will help you be ready when it’s time. 

Are you looking for new resources and lesson ideas for HFC3E/3M?  

OFSHEEA has created an entire NEW curriculum map focusing on the development, understanding and appreciation of local and world cultures through food in a way that is culturally responsive, inclusive and respectful to all students in our classrooms.  We are looking for OFSHEEA members who would be interested in pilot testing this new course for the fall semester (Sept 2024 – January 2025).

Please follow this link in order to get more information and express your interest:
https://forms.gle/yjxJ59ECvNS4tTEp7 

Great news for those who are new to teaching foods and fashion this fall. OFSHEEA will be running their Leading Food and Fashion Labs virtual workshop again! The workshops will be happening on Saturday September 7th over Zoom. These workshops will help to prepare you to teach and lead inclusive lab experiences for students.  Workshops cover topics such as:

• budgeting
• lab set up and equipment
• classroom procedures and management
• safety 
• assessment practices
• supporting the needs of all students

At the end of each workshop you will be given access to classroom ready resources that will make your life easier!!!

Sessions will happen as follows:
Food Lab Workshop – Saturday September 7,  2024    9am -12noon
Fashion Lab Workshop – Saturday September 7, 2024   12:30-3:30pm

COST:  The workshops are free to members of OFSHEEA and $20 per workshop for non-members.  Another great reason to join OFSHEEA!

Registration will happen in August.  Follow us on our socials for more information. Be sure to share this workshop information with new Family Studies teachers in your school!

OFSHEEA Memberships are now open for the 2024-2025 School Year!

There are so many reasons to become an OFSHEEA member! Not only does your membership give you access to our members-only resources and free attendance at our workshops, but your membership fee helps to support the work we do for all Family Studies teachers across the province, including our writing projects and the advocacy we do on behalf of our subject area!

To become a member, follow this link: https://ofsheea.education/forms/?classfilter=3

if you are a returning member and want to renew your membership, we are so grateful for your continued support! You will be able to renew your membership in August – follow us on Facebok or Instagram to see your reminders!

Find our Podcast Here:  https://whatthefamilystudies.buzzsprout.com/ 

The Canadian Symposium is coming to Ontario

OFSHEEA is excited to be a host organization for the next Canadian Symposium, which will be held from February 28th – March 2nd 2025 in Hamilton, Ontario. We hope to see many OFSHEEA members participate in the Symposium by atteding or writing a paper. If you’d like to make a submission but aren’t sure where to start, check out the Proceedings to get some ideas on the types of topics previously included and the format for submissions.

For further information on the Canadian Symposium, please visit their website: https://www.ca-symposium.com/

Help promote OFSHEEA’s message to the Ministry of Education by sending an email to your MPP and Education Minister Todd Smith. Click on the button to download a PFD version of our form letter that you can copy and paste into an email to help us get our message across!

Some examples of the types of grants available through this award:

• Needs assessment or evaluation of school breakfast or snack programs, after school activities, such as budgeting and smart shopping workshops.
  Purchasing fabric for students with limited resources.
  Providing funds for child care for a student who needs to study for examinations.
  Paying admission and transportation costs for home economics/human ecology/family studies related field trips to support students with limited resources.
  Provide funds for classroom projects to benefit community/volunteer initiatives.

*Operating costs and teaching supplies or equipment (including computer hardware and software) are NOT eligible.
Provision of food (eg. for breakfast programs) is NOT funded.

Dear Family Studies Educators,

If you’re wondering where our March newsletter went, you’re not alone – we’re wondering where March went altogether! It seems like we’ve reached the time of year where the days and weeks seem to fly by, despite the amount of work we all need to get done before the end of June. We know you’ve got things in hand, but we’re here to help too!

Upcoming Workshop:

Wednesday April 17th at 4:00 PM

Our April workshop will be presented by  Claire Bilik. She is a Registered Dietitian with the Middlesex-London Health Unit on the School Health Team. She works with public health nurses and the school community to create supportive food environments in schools that foster positive relationships with food and body image. If you are still working on developing a classroom that helps students develop a positive relationship with food, than this workshop is for you!

Please follow this link in order to register:
https://forms.gle/NymfSK6FMXsrKW9MA 

Podcast:

Find our Podcast Here: https://whatthefamilystudies.buzzsprout.com/

In our most recent podcast episode we interviewed Reid Ball, who is studying food science at the University of Guelph and is currently in his fifth and final year doing co-op work at the Guelph Food Innovation Center.

This amazing new episode is designed to be used in the classroom in order to introduce the topic of careers in the food industry! And if you’re an OFSHEEA member, read on, since we have got some great resources to accompany the episode. 

Resources: 

We have some great new resources to accompany the latest episode of our podcast, especially for our OFSHEEA members.

The first lesson  – really a 5-day mini-unit – allows students to explore careers in product development and marketing in the food industry. The goal of this lesson is for students to conduct research about innovation in food science and explore the careers and the steps involved in the creation of a new food product.
Find it here: https://ofsheea.education/download/foods-food-product-development-five-day-lesson-plan/

In the second lesson, Students will learn about the field of food science, its various career opportunities, and the importance of staying updated with food trends and sustainability. They will also gain insights into the study program at the University of Guelph and the co-op experience at the Guelph Food Innovation Center.
Find it here: https://ofsheea.education/download/foods-careers-in-the-food-industry-lesson-plan/ 

Save the date! The Canadian Symposium is coming to Ontario

OFSHEEA is excited to be a host organization for the next Canadian Symposium, which will be held from February 28th – March 2nd 2025 in Hamilton, Ontario. While we work on further details, we hope that our Ontario Family Studies will plan to attend, and that some of you will consider writing papers to share the amazing work know that you are doing!

For further information on the Canadian Symposium, please visit their website: https://www.ca-symposium.com/

Dear Family Studies Educators,

As an Educational Organisation, it is so important to OFSHEEA that we respect and honour Black histories and cultures throughout the year. In February we take some extra time to reflect on our commitment to make classrooms in Ontario spaces that value Black history, Black joy, and Black excellence. We hope that some of the resources that we have shared on our social media this month have helped our community to continue this work.

Upcoming Workshop:

For our February workshop, Nicholas Ryan from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board will be with us to present on AI in the Family Studies Classroom. We know that this is an important topic for many of our members and colleagues, so we hope you will join us for a dynamic conversation about this increasingly important topic in Education.

Podcast:

Find our Podcast Here: https://whatthefamilystudies.buzzsprout.com/

In our most recent podcast episode we interviewed Family Studies teacher Jennifer Sobec  from Niagara District School Board about her transition from a new sewist to finding ways to draw students into her program through student interests like cosplay, upcycling items, and making fashion fun!

Our next episode will feature representative from Studica about RealCare Babies and other simulation tools that can be used in the family studies classroom.

Resources: 

We know that some of our members might be teaching a food of a fashion class for the first time this semester, and we want to support you with this new challenge! We are making the materials from our 2023 Food and Fashion Lab workshops available to our members, including the recordings of the workshops themselves. Members can find these resources using this link:  https://ofsheea.education/download/resources-ofsheea-food-and-fashion-lab-workshops/

We are also working on some great new recipe resources for our members, where we include information for food lab planning along with a lab-friendly recipe! For our first one, we have recipe that’s great for Black History Month (or any time of year), Jamaican Jerk Chicken and Rice and Peas. OFSHEEA members can find the resource here: https://ofsheea.education/download/foods-jamaican-jerk-chicken-rice-and-peas-food-lab-recipe/

Do you want to make more connections in your subject area? Are you looking for some guidance and support in Family Studies, or do you have wisdom and experience to share with teachers who may be new to the subject area?

OFSHEEA is launching our mentorship program, which will be a great opportunity and experience for OFSHEEA members!  Please complete the form at the link below in order to register for this exciting new program.

Great News! OFSHEEA will once again be offering our popular Food and Fashion Lab workshops in preparation for the new school year. These workshops are great opportunities for teachers to improve their confidence and skills when teaching practical content to students!

One of the most fun and rewarding aspects to teaching Nutrition and Fashion courses is the hands-on component.  Fostering students’ skill development while keeping them as safe as possible is a challenge that we want to prepare you for. To this end, OFSHEEA wants to share an upcoming opportunity for professional development created for teachers new to family studies (or for those just looking for a refresher).

OFSHEEA will be offering 2 different virtual workshops via zoom, one on how to run Food Labs and another on Fashion Labs.  The dates and times are as follows:

Fashion Lab Workshop  –  Wednesday August 24, 2022   9:30am  –  12:30pm

Food Lab Workshop –  Tuesday August 30, 2022  12:30pm – 3:30pm

Equity! CRRP! Anti-Oppression Education! Bias! Power and Privilege! These are just some of the current hot topics in the media and in education discourse. This session will explore these important concepts and how they impact our classrooms. Participants will leave with practical and actionable lesson activities to take back to your school, department, and classroom.

Save the Date for this upcoming workshop, registration will open in September!