Making the day go smoothly
Mackenzie Mountain School drops the pop and picks up blenders
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, May 23, 2016
LLI GOLINE/NORMAN WELLS
Grade 8 student Sharleen Boyle has a few smoothie secrets.
Reece Harley's class at Mackenzie Mountain School in Norman Wells takes an afternoon smoothie break. - photo courtesy of Dana Bennett |
"I've noticed that you need to put a lot of fruit in and enough yogurt, so it's not too thin but it's not too thick," said the Mackenzie Mountain School student. "It's pretty easy to do."
Boyle is one of the school's smoothie-makers in training, thanks to a new initiative that aims to promote healthy beverage choices, said principal Michael Duclos.
Duclos started making smoothies after receiving funding from Nutrition North and the Government of the Northwest Territories' Drop the Pop campaign. He purchased enough frozen fruit to fill the school's freezer and bought some brand-new blenders.
"We started basically, kind of randomly, going around to classes a few times a week and giving kids smoothies," he said. "We try to do it in the afternoons when it's kind of a lull time, to try to revitalize that energy."
Duclos selects different students to act as his assistants.
"I usually borrow a hard-working kid who has already done the assignment of the day," he said. "We go around and make smoothies."
While some students might have a particular favourite, Emily Bayha, Grade 8, said she enjoys every type of smoothie she's tried so far.
"Any kind is good," she said.
Duclos said the goal is to show students beverages don't need to have a lot of sugar to be tasty.
"This was just a nice way to educate students that there are still delicious drinks out there that don't have to be pop or energy drinks," he said. "It still tastes good and gives you that push you need in the afternoon."
Smoothies have already become a staple at the school's Friday morning hot breakfast program and Duclos said he hopes to expand to more events and activities.
"We're going to continue to grow the program," he said. "We're going to continue to do smoothies hopefully for years to come."
