About
the PV HAC
For more than 15 years,
The Putnam Valley Health Advisory Council has
been quietly taking responsibility for improving the
health, safety, and well being of the children of the
Putnam Valley Central School District, as well as the
community at large. This group of teachers, parents,
community representatives, physicians, nurses, law
enforcement, administrators, and students meets monthly
throughout the school year and the summer. HAC sponsors
community events and programs, and prepares educational
materials aimed at educating and informing the children
and parents of Putnam Valley, NY, about making healthy
choices and learning healthful behaviors. |
 Newsletters
and Reports
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Our
Programs
HAC sponsors and/or supports two important annual events:
THE PUTNAM VALLEY
WELLNESS FAIR
 This long-running
autumn event is sponsored by the Putnam
Valley Health Advisory Council and produced
by a dedicated volunteer committee led
by veteran PVMS Health teacher and Health
Advisory Council Chair, Pam Darreff. The
concept of the Fair is to provide information
on a broad range of health, wellness,
and safety issues to Middle School students
and their families in a festive, interactive,
evening setting.
 In recent years each Wellness Fair has
been accompanied by a New York Blood
Center Blood Drive. Local health and
wellness groups participate in the Fair,
offering advice on a broad range of
topics from yoga to family support & advocacy
to hospice care to infection control
to alcohol and tobacco abuse prevention.
 The Wellness Fair is an annual event
that brings many community agencies
together. The Putnam County Sheriff’s
Department, The Putnam Valley Volunteer
Ambulance Corps, and the Putnam Valley
Volunteer Fire Department are regular,
active participants. Many of the exhibitors
use hands-on techniques and give-aways
to share their information.
 A favorite feature of each Wellness
Fair is the raffles. Visitors receive
tickets when they participate at the
various interactive exhibits. This is
a great motivator for adults and children
because they may use the tickets in
a drawing for the numerous gift certificates
and other prizes donated by local vendors
and community members. This a wonderful
community/school event.
STRAIGHT TALK is
an annual spring evening program consisting
of workshops designed to educate the members
of our educational community about important
health and safety issues. The program
consists of two “blocks” of
workshops followed by an informal social
time, where attendees can enjoy refreshments
and reflect on the evening’s events.
 Examples of recent workshop topics include: Unfriendly
Teasing/Bullying--Let’s Stop the Hurt!
| Anxiety And Phobias | The Parent Dilemma
| Internet Safety | How to Talk to Your
Children About Sex | Unhealthy Relationships--When
Abuse Touches Us | Marijuana: Not a Problem,
Or Is It? | Eating Disorders: What You Need
to Know | Loss--How to Deal | Kids’ Top
5 Health and Diet Blunders | When the Going
Gets Tough: What to Do When Life Throws
You a Curve | Tests and More Tests--Coping
Strategies
Knowledgeable and articulate healthcare
professionals from Putnam and Westchester,
as well as PVCSD staff members, local law
enforcement officials, and Putnam Valley
students themselves make up the yearly list
of presenters. Student, teacher, and parent
volunteers from the Middle School act as
hosts/presenters for each of the workshops.
 IN ADDITION HAC
sponsors and/or produces:
- An informative series of fact sheets
entitled HAC Helplines
- An annual Prom Night Safety
Letter for high school students
and their families
- No Smoking Cards that
are designed to be handed out to individuals
who violate the District’s Smoke
Free Campus policy
- Annual Student Surveys such
as the PRIDE and Communities That Care
(CTC) surveys, which document trends among
District students in areas such as drug,
alcohol, and tobacco abuse, as well as
other measures of health and safety.
- The SAFE KIDS Program,
which each year trains Middle School students
to bring a stranger awareness program
to our Elementary School students.
- EPIC – Every Person Influences
Children – an interactive
family support program in which trained
facilitators work with small groups
of parents to address parenting challenges.
- PREVENTION EDUCATION – The
District is fortunate to have the services
of a Prevention Educator, Ms. Theresa
DelVecchio, who works with our 7th – 8th – and
9th graders in group settings to educate
them about the importance of avoiding
drugs, tobacco, and alcohol.
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Who’s
Who?
The Putnam Valley Central
School District has a strong team of experienced
professionals whose job it is to support Putnam
Valley’s children and their families.
Wellness
Policy
The most exciting recent
development is the new District Wellness Policy,
which was approved in the spring and launched
in the autumn of 2006.
The Putnam Valley Health Advisory Council and
the Putnam Valley Board of Education worked together
to draft, edit, and approve a Wellness Policy
for the Putnam Valley Schools. The new policy
sets guidelines, not just for lunches and “special
occasion” food, but for an overall focus
on good health, good nutrition, and good choices.
Recognizing that this is a new document reflecting
a new law, the District has designed this Local
Wellness Policy (LWP) as a living document subject
to revision each year as needed.
What are the basics?
- Establishment of goals for nutrition education,
physical activity, and other school-based activities
that are designed to promote student wellness;
- Adherence to nutrition guidelines for all foods
that are available on each school campus during
the school day, with the objectives of promoting
student health and reducing childhood obesity;
- Assurance that guidelines for reimbursable school
meals shall not be less restrictive than regulations
and guidance issued by the federal government;
- Establishment of a plan for measuring implementation
of the LWP, including designation of one or more
persons within the District or at each school,
charged with operational responsibility for ensuring
that the school meets the LPW; and
- Involvement of parents, students, representatives
of the school food authority, the school board,
school administrators, and the public in the development
of the LWP.
The Putnam Valley LWP addresses these goals in
a number of ways. In addition to continuing and
enhancing our longstanding health, wellness, and
physical education programs in all three schools,
the LWP makes many new recommendations. Some of
the key new recommendations are:
- Developing a Wellness Area on our District website
that summarizes the LWP and offers tips on good
nutrition, fitness, and overall wellness, as well
as links to other accredited wellness and nutrition
websites;
- Paying special attention to those students who
may not be traditional team athletes and/or who
may be at risk for unhealthful behaviors;
- Making an effort to limit rewards for academic
achievement or other accomplishments to non-food
items;
- Encouraging fundraising activities to promote
physical activity. Examples are basketball shoot-a-thons;
walk-a-thons; jump-rope-a-thons; home run derbies;
Family Fun and Fitness Days; or Make a Difference
Day park projects; and
- Encouraging birthdays and other holidays to
be celebrated as a group rather than individually,
encouraging healthy snacks. Parties in class
should be limited to no more than two per month.
The District will develop a list of “choose
sensibly” party fare for distribution
to parents.
The HAC has already taken an active role (in
cooperation with the Putnam Valley Board of Education)
in developing this policy and will also remain
active in implementing, reviewing, and revising
it annually to reflect the developing needs of
our constituents.
The Summary of the Wellness Policy states, in
part, “With the support and input of the
Putnam Valley Health Advisory Council, the District
will promote these policies and programs to
the fullest extent allowed by budget, staffing,
and scheduling, in an effort to improve both
the health and the well-being of all of our
students. We recognize that this document is
a first step: We anticipate that it will remain
a fluid and flexible work in progress for the
next several years as we explore and learn the
practices that work best in our community.”
(click
here for full text of The Wellness Policy)
For More
Information on the PV Health Advisory Council,
or to join us, email us at PVHAC@pvcsd.orgOther
Useful Links
| COMMUNITY BUILDING & VOLUNTEERISM
DIVERSITY, TOLERANCE,
SELF-IMAGE
KIDS AND FAMILIES |
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
PREVENTION ISSUES
SAFETY |
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