Buffet Lab

The 8th grade students prepared quite a feast this week. They did a fine job peeling, coring, paring, cutting, chopping, mixing, baking, tossing, and stirring strawberry delight jello, taco salad, cheesy potato casserole and apple crisp.

The students used all of the skills they have acquired this semester to prepare this well-balanced meal. Hopefully they shared some of their talents with you as they cooked their food for their Family Meal Project. A night off of kitchen duty is always nice!

Enjoy your weekend!

Mrs. J. Bretl

Welcome to Consumer Education!

Welcome to the 2015 - 2016 school year! My name is Judy Bretl.  I am the Consumer Education teacher here at Lakeview Junior High School.  This is my ninth year teaching at Lakeview and my fourteenth 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.

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 primary objective of this program is to help students meet the challenges of daily living while providing laboratory experiences that foster leadership and group skills.

Most of our coursework will be done in class.  We will have very little homework due to the “hands-on” nature of our foods’ 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 “B”.

Students are expected to be respectful, listen and follow directions, report to class on time, and use all kitchen equipment safely and appropriately. If expectations are not met, students will receive a verbal warning.  If the behavior continues after the warning, consequences will be given based on the severity of the behavior. Students who demonstrate positive, on-task behavior may earn Spartan Stars for tangible rewards.

***There are many consumable materials used in Consumer Education 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 money in an envelope with your child's name and class period on it.  Payments are due by Friday, September 4.

I am looking forward to an exciting semester working with your child.  If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please feel free to contact me at 630-783-5034 or jbretl@ccsd66.org.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Judy Bretl

Let Them Eat Cake!

      Our lab for the week was Wacky Cake. The 6th grade students made the egg-free chocolate cake and baked it on the first day of the lab. They discovered that the recipe involved a chemical reaction with vinegar and baking soda. On the second day of the lab the students made their own Butter Icing and devoured the cake.

     This was quite a fun-filled week. All of the seventh grade students made Oreo Cookie Ice Cream in our Consumer Education Lab.  The students couldn't believe how easy it was to make the recipe. They were very proud of themselves. I must admit it did taste yummy. 

     The sixth and seventh graders will be bringing their recipe packets home this week. I hope they continue to cook at home.

Have a nice weekend!

Mrs. J. Bretl

Pizza! Pizza!

Now that the 7th grade students have several foods' labs behind them things are settling down a bit. Each class was able to get their pizza lab completed on time. The students also did very well with clean up tasks this week.  The 7th graders made Brunch Pizza in their lab this week. The students did a nice job. I was impressed with how well the pizza crusts turned out. The students also did a fine job consuming their pizzas.

The 6th grade students made English Muffin Pizzas this week.   Each lab group had to work efficiently to measure, prepare, bake and serve their pizzas in one class period.  Most of the students did a nice job with kitchen clean up. They all did a fine job consuming their pizza!

Have a nice weekend!

Mrs. Bretl

Tater Tot Casserole and Breakfast Tacos

It was easy to tell that the lab this week was a huge success. The 7th grade students completed their two-day lab by making Tater Tot Casserole. There were no leftovers! I hope the students get a chance to make this recipe at home sometime. The lab results were spectacular!

The sixth grade students made Breakfast Tacos in their lab this week. The students did a great job measuring ingredients, making the tacos and serving them in one class period. I was impressed with how well each group worked. The students also did a fine job consuming their Breakfast Tacos. The students had some creative ideas for how to make this recipe at home!

Have a nice weekend! 

Mrs. Bretl

Nutrition Facts and Advertising Techniques

      The sixth grade students discussed how to be smart shoppers and discovered the importance of reading nutrition facts' labels on food packages.  The students used information from their  cereal box comparison worksheet to create a "new" cereal combining information from two cereal boxes of their choice . Students designed a new cover, name, nutrition facts' label and ingredients list to create this new cereal. A few of my favorites include; Cocoa Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Pebbles and Shredded Bran!

      The 7th grade students worked together to analyze advertisements from local newspapers and magazines. They listed the persuasive techniques used in each advertisement. Each class worked with their lab partners and determined which advertising ploy was being used to sell a particular product. The students became familiar with bandwagon, snob appeal, humor, emotional appeal, celebrity endorsement and lifestyle advertising techniques. The students worked with a partner using Google Draw to create an advertisement for the new product that they designed.  The students advertisements were very persuasive!


Mrs. Bretl

Great Nutrition!

      The 6th graders continued their Nutrition Unit this week by discussing daily food choices and the importance of eating breakfast every morning. Students worked with a partner to plan a healthy breakfast menu that included food choices from at least three of the food groups. I was pleased to see how many students eat breakfast every day. Studies have shown that "students that eat breakfast do much better in school than the breakfast-skippers". I still need to encourage a few non-believers.

       The 7th grade students continued their investigation of nutrition, as well.  The students worked on their Chrome Books to create a "WeVideo" describing one of the essential nutrients needed to keep us healthy.  Each student was able to identify a nutrient and provide information about its function in the body. Students also included specific food sources that supply these nutrients.  Nice job!

Have a nice weekend!

Mrs. Bretl

Nutrients and Healthy Food Choices

We spent time investigating the Choose My Plate.gov website in order to learn more about making healthy food choices. The sixth grade students were able to plan a healthy day of eating according to the Choose My Plate.gov recommendations.  The sixth grade students will program their choices into the "food tracker" on the USDA "Choose My Plate" website on Monday. They will analyze their food intake and determine where they need to make adjustments. I have included a link to this site (http://www.choosemyplate.gov) on my blog.

The seventh graders have been working with their lab partners to review the six categories of nutrients.  Each group is in the planning stage of completing a We Video on one main nutrient. The students will be sharing how each nutrient is responsible for helping our bodies work effectively.

Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. J. Bretl

Manners Do Matter!

The sixth and seventh grade students had a busy week filled with PARCC testing and cold weather.

We discussed good manners and appropriate table etiquette this week in Consumer Education. The students seem to be well versed in this area. They did a nice job brainstorming the good manners that they use everyday. The students were able to identify specific table manners as they worked with their lab partners to complete a crossword puzzle. I am sure that they practice these same good manners at home, too. 

The 6th graders made Fun Fruit Kabobs and the 7th graders made Breakfast Banana Splits for their lab this week.  The students did a fabulous job measuring, preparing, serving and cleaning up all in one day!

We are beginning our Nutrition Unit next week.  The students will be completing a nutrition log in class on Monday.

Have a good weekend.

The first lab was successful!

The first cooking lab for the 6th and 7th grade students went very well this week. The 6th grade students made Creamy Caramel Apple Dip and the 7th grade students made individual Apple Crisps. The students followed the recipe instructions quite well. Several kitchen labs completed clean up on time! I am sure the other groups will improve next week!

I was impressed with how well the students worked with their lab partners. It will take time for them to feel comfortable with all of the new lab procedures here at Lakeview, but I am sure they are up for the task.

Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Kitchen Equipment and Measuring Techniques

The 6th grade and 7th grade students were able to identify 30 pieces of kitchen equipment that they will be using in their Consumer Education foods' labs.  They watched a demonstration on proper measuring techniques and were able to  describe specific techniques needed to measure flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla and other liquids.

We played Kitchen Safety and Measuring Jeopardy as a review  for the Kitchen Safety, Measuring and Equipment quiz.

Our first cooking lab will be the week of February 23.

Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Kitchen Safety

The 6th grade students had a busy week. The students spent the week discovering how to prevent kitchen accidents. They learned the importance of kitchen safety as well as food safety and sanitation in Consumer Education class.

Each class made Kitchen Safety Booklets to illustrate safe procedures to follow. The students did a nice job illustrating ways to prevent cuts, burns, fires, spills, falls, and electrical shocks.

The 7th grade students completed a short review of kitchen safety and kitchen equipment this week.  The review was especially beneficial to those students that were not in Consumer Education class last year.


Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Building Laundry Skills and Building Friendships

After discussing clothing care and various laundry tips the sixth grade students were able to identify appropriate clothing care practices to follow at home. Most of the 6th graders told me that they do help out with laundry chores. The students also figured out how to sort clothes according to color, degree of soil and fabric construction. It was fun to see how excited the students were about doing laundry.  I hope they practice some of these laundry skills at home this weekend.

The seventh graders had a busy week, as well.  They are wrapping up their mini-unit on peer pressure and friendship. The students have begun writing their essays on the topic of friendship this week.  They will complete these essays next week.

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Getting to know all about you!

It has been great getting to know all of the sixth grade students. They are very energetic and raring to go. They have done a nice job in class this week. We spent time completing several "getting to know you" activities. We also discussed procedures and expectations for Consumer Education.

I am learning many interesting things about each student. It is quite evident that all of the sixth grade students are ready for a great semester. Their enthusiasm is very refreshing!

There was also time to get reacquainted with the seventh graders this past week.  They have begun their unit on communication.  We had a great discussion on all the types of nonverbal communication that people use in their everyday lives.
Have a nice weekend!

Sincerely,
Mrs. J. Bretl

Welcome to Consumer Education!

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Consumer Education!  My name is Judy Bretl.  I am the Consumer Education teacher here at Lakeview Junior High School.  This is my eighth year teaching at Lakeview and my thirteenth 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.

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 primary objective of this program is to help students meet the challenges of daily living while providing laboratory experiences that foster leadership and group skills.

Most of our coursework will be done in class.  We will have very little homework due to the “hands-on” nature of our foods’ 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 at 7:35 a.m. and during study hall “B”.

Students are expected to be respectful, listen and follow directions, report to class on time, and use all kitchen equipment safely and appropriately. If expectations are not met, students will receive a verbal warning.  If the behavior continues after the warning, consequences will be given based on the severity of the behavior. Students who demonstrate positive, on-task behavior may earn Spartan Stars for tangible rewards.

***There are many consumable materials used in Consumer Education 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 money in an envelope with your child's name and class period on it.  Payments are due by Friday, January 30.

I am looking forward to an exciting semester working with your child.  If you have any questions or concerns throughout the year, please feel free to contact me at 630-783-5034 or jbretl@ccsd66.org.