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School nutrition professionals are working with teachers and visiting classrooms with much greater frequency. Below, you'll find Connections in Action, offering ideas and resources to help you do just that.

Host a Dairy Dazzling Calcium Carnival!

You can dazzle kids with dairy by holding a Dairy Dazzling Calcium Carnival. Developed by Healthy Kids Challenge, this program actively teaches children 3-A-Day™ of Dairy lessons, provides excellent step-by-step instructions and includes clearly-stated health outcomes. So Download the Guide , gather your team and let the games begin!...

Dazzling Results in Oklahoma!

Tulsa Public Schools in Oklahoma held a "Dairy Dazzling Calcium Carnival" to promote the importance of calcium and making 3-A-Day of Dairy™ choices. Using the Guide, students learned about the nutritional benefits of dairy and created educational dairy games, prior to the carnival. Carnival included:

• A school library dairy-related reading session
• Dairy-related festive games
• Dairy tasting party hosted by the school's nutrition department
• Dairy dip tasting
• Educational messages on the health benefits of dairy

Post-Surveys Showed...

• 73 percent of the students surveyed after the Calcium Carnival stated they were drinking more milk or eating more calcium-rich foods.
• 74 percent of the students surveyed reported they eat three or more servings of dairy on a daily basis.

3-A-Day™ of Dairy Campaign a Great Success at White Plains Middle and High Schools

The Westchester County Department of Health's 3-A-Day of Dairy nutrition education grant program targeted 3,700 students at White Plains Middle School and High School. Student committees were formed to generate greater awareness of the 3-A-Day of Dairy message within the schools. Components for the campaign included:

• A 3-A-Day of Dairy kick-off in the schools' cafeterias
• Broadcast messages over the schools' public address systems to remind students to eat "3-A-Day of Dairy"
• Dairy consumption contest with prizes for students whose dairy intake was at least three servings a day
• Inclusion of calcium-rich foods on the cafeterias' menus

At the conclusion of the campaign, 81 percent of students surveyed reported they benefited from the program and were trying to eat three servings of dairy daily.

"Calcium for Kids" Program Targets Preteens and Their Parents

Three Fort Yates Reservation schools in North Dakota took part in a school-based nutrition intervention curriculum program called "Calcium for Kids," which was developed by North Dakota State University. Focusing on teaching preteens and their parents about the importance of eating three servings of calcium every day, it included:

• Hands-on classroom lessons, games and activities related to the basics of calcium nutrition concepts
• Dairy intake goals set by students
• Newsletters that highlighted nutrition tips and recipes for parents
• A "Dairy Day" event in the schools' cafeterias with dairy products samples

Students were given pre- and post-intervention surveys to determine program impact: 93 percent of students completing the post survey reported they will drink more milk; 52 percent said will eat more cheese and 83 percent said will drink less soda.

Beyond the Calcium Lecture...

Cook Sandy Maynard (Alice B. Beal Elementary in Massachusetts) talked to classes about the importance of calcium. Then, she took it to another level by giving kids 30 minutes to design a poster. The artwork was so great, they ended up giving each child a prize!