For MASSPTA

Friday, November 9th from 10a - 2:30p T he Massachusetts Asthma Advocacy Partnership (MAAP), a new statewide collaborative of community based organizations, will be hosting a Statewide Strategy Summit at the Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Sq, Worcester, MA 01608

At this Summit, we will learn about the status of asthma in the state and about state funding, hear a panel of successful asthma leaders, i dentify key priorities (both locally and Commonwealth-wide) on issues related to asthma (e.g., housing, environmental, occupational, school-based, etc.). Lunch and refreshments will be served.

To register contact Vinay N Kampalath, Coordinator, Massachusetts Advocacy Partnershipm Boston Urban AsthmaAsthma Coalition, vkampalath@tmfnet.org  (617) 451-0049 x 508 

Since this summer there have been more and more recalls of toys and jewelry because they contain lead. The unfortunate truth is that companies have added lead to many other children's products like PVC bibs, rubber ducks, car seats, lunchboxes and more, and they are still being sold.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has proposed a regulation to ban the sale of toy jewelry with "dangerous levels of lead." This is not enough. Infants and children put all kinds of items into their mouths, including toys, and the lead builds up in their bodies.

Click here to learn about three ways you can help tell the Massachusetts Department of Public Health that no products should contain lead.

Toxic legacy: can a plastic 'alter human cells'? USA Today [related stories]

http://www.usatoday.com/news /health/2007-10-30-plastics -cover_N.htm

 

'Endocrine disruptor' won't be on label.   USA Today [related stories]

http://www.usatoday.com/news /health/2007-10-30-endocrine -main_N.htm

 

Chemical used in household plastics sparks concerns.   PBS NewsHour [related stories]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb /health/july-dec07/bottle_10 -30.html

 

The child nutrition bills, S. 771 in the Senate and H.R. 1363 in the House, can be read and tracked at website http://thomas.loc.gov .

The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity--whose members include the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Dietetic Association, the National PTA, and the American Heart Association--is calling on its members to try to persuade the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to update standards for foods sold in schools outside the federally subsidized lunch and breakfast programs.

Pointing out that while nutrition standards in the federal programs are updated periodically in accordance with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there has been no change for 30 years in the USDA's standards for foods sold outside of school meals, the alliance says that makes for some arbitrary rules for what can and can't be sold.

For instance, the alliance notes, current USDA standards allow sales of French fries, ice cream, candy bars, cookies, chips, snack cakes, and doughnuts, while prohibiting less ubiquitous items such as seltzer water, caramel corn, Popsicles without fruit juice, jelly beans, chewing gum, lollipops, cotton candy, and breath mints. "As a result, while children receive sound nutrition from federally reimbursed school meals, foods such as soft drinks, candy, and fried snack foods are readily available at school, undermining child health and wasting taxpayer dollars invested in the school food program."

It's not, the alliance points out, that schools are making a lot of money from the unhealthful foods they are dispensing in cafeterias or vending machines. Contracts that schools negotiate with vendors, for example, which are an attractive discretionary source of funding for administrators, generate an average of $18 per student per school year for schools and/or school districts. In an average school beverage contract, that would be approximately one-fourth of one percent of the cost of a student';s education.

Also, the alliance notes, money that flows to vending machines and cafeteria ala carte service comes out of the pockets of children; in effect, students and their parents make up with their own money for the revenue schools lose in federal payments for reimbursable meals that are not served when students opt for the alternatives.

As to how all of this affects the bottom line, the alliance reports that a recent survey of 17 school districts found that 12 had increased food revenues after improving their school food options, and four reported no change. That seems to show that, as claimed by the Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that "Students will buy and consume healthful foods and beverages--and schools can make money from selling healthful options."

A recent Institute of Medicine report called for specific standards for school foods outside the federal programs, and bipartisan bills currently before Congress would "provide children with nutritious food and beverage choices at school, model healthy choices, reinforce nutrition education, and support parents' ability to feed their children a healthy diet." The Child Nutrition Promotion and School Lunch Protection Act calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to update its definition of "Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value" to conform to current nutrition science-- "for the whole campus, the whole day."

http://www.thankyouocean.org/

Practical information for school personnel concerned with reducing bullying among students: Schools Where Everyone Belongs: Practical Strategies for Reducing Bullying, by Stan Davis.

Only one of many resources in Part II from Special Ed Advocate. We discuss the problem of harassment and bullying and best strategies and practices to prevent it.

Last week, Part 1 featured:

• Stop Bullying Now: Reports and Resources
• Bullying Prevention - for Kids
• Bullying Prevention - for Parents

Please don't hesitate to share this issue with other families, teachers or professionals.

November 27, 2007 at 7:00 pm Come to the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow (AHT) annual meeting. AHT members represent over 1900 individual citizens and over 160 organizations working for a SAFER MASSACHUSETTS .

Featured Speaker: John Auerbach, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Bring toys, ceramics, and household or office products you'd like tested for lead, cadmium or other hazards. 

The meeting is free and open to the public. Location: Plymouth Church of Framingham, UCC, 87 Edgell Rd., Framingham Centre, MA.

The event is a great way to find out about H-783 & S-558: An Act for a Healthy Massachusetts: Safer Alternatives to Toxic Chemicals, a bill designed to promote feasible alternatives to the toxic hazards in our products and manufacturing processes that contribute to the epidemic of chronic diseases and disabilities, including asthma, birth defects, cancers, developmental disabilities, diabetes, endometriosis, infertility, Parkinson's disease, etc.

Click here for more details and background information.

http://www.cdc.gov/Features /MRSAinSchools

MRSA Facts
. What type of infection does MRSA cause?
. How is MRSA transmitted?
. In what settings do MRSA skin infections occur?
. How do I protect myself from MRSA?
. Should schools close because of a MRSA infection?
. Should the school be closed to be cleaned or disinfected when an MRSA
infection occurs?
. Should the entire school community be notified of every MRSA infection?
. Should the school be notified that my child has an MRSA infection?
. Should students with MRSA skin infections be excluded from attending
school?
. I have an MRSA skin infection. How do I prevent spreading it to others?