Welcome to Consumer Education 6th Graders!

It was great spending time with family and friends this week. I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving. I am energized and ready for trimester two and the 6th grade students.

I am the Consumer Education teacher here at Lakeview Junior High School. This is my eighth year teaching Consumer Education. I graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor's degree in Home Economics and received my Master's degree and teaching certificate from Northern Illinois University. I am delighted to be teaching here at Lakeview.

Mrs. Judy Bretl
Consumer Education Teacher
Phone: (630) 783-5034
Email: jbretl@ccsd66.org

Consumer Education is a Family and Consumer Science course designed to help middle school students learn the life skills they need to be responsible, productive family and community members.

The units of study for your sixth grader include:
Nutrition
Kitchen Safety and Sanitation
Food Preparation
Consumer Awareness
Babysitting Safety
Clothing Care and Laundry Tips
Sewing Skills

Most of our coursework will be done in class. We will have very little homework due to the “hands-on” nature of our labs. Your child will use the textbook Discovering Food and Nutrition in class. If necessary, students may check out a textbook from me in order to make up work. I am available before school each morning and during study hall “A”.

There are many consumable materials used in this class. To help defer the cost of the consumable material, a $20.00 lab fee is necessary. Please pay the lab fee within the first week of class. Checks may be made payable to District 66. We prefer a check, but will accept cash. For cash payment, please put in an envelope with your child's name on it.

I am looking forward to an exciting trimester working with your child. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Sew... a needle pulling thread!

After discussing clothing care and various laundry tips the 8th grade students learned how to sew on a button this week. They didn't stop at just a button, though. Each student selected a pattern design of their choice and used their newly acquired hand-sewing skills to sew a miniature pillow or ornament. The students are using felt and embroidery floss to complete their projects. They were very creative in their design choices. Since the students are working so diligently we are taking an extra day to finish the projects. I hope they will share them with you on Monday.

Have a nice weekend.

Mrs. J. Bretl

What a feast!

The 8th grade students prepared quite a feast this week. They did a fine job peeling, coring, paring, cutting, chopping, mixing, baking, tossing, stirring, and unmolding strawberry delight jello, taco salad, cheesy potato casserole and apple crisp.
The students used all of the skills they have acquired this trimester to prepare this well-balanced meal. I hope they will share some of their talents with you. You may get a night off of kitchen duty.

Enjoy your weekend.

Mrs. J. Bretl

Creative Pizzas!

It is hard to believe that the 8th graders are ready to complete their trimester in Consumer Education. They only have two weeks left before they move on to their next Encore class.
Our lab this week involved making the designer pizza recipes that each class created. The students were very pleased with their creations. I must admit that the pizza recipes turned out very well. Nice job!

Have a nice weekend.

Mrs. J. Bretl