First graders, fifth graders, and tenth graders, oh my!

(Tomales Elementary School: Mrs. Leask’s Fifth Grade Class)

School visits are keeping me extremely busy lately, and I love every minute of them! I have visited classes in the typical "urban America" setting with students who have never seen a cow before. I have also presented in classrooms where cows were grazing outside the window. From Healdsburg, Sebastopol and Graton in Sonoma County, to Tomales and Point Reyes, in Marin County, each class has been a different experience. I have visited elementary schools, junior high schools, and even a high school. The students are not the only ones who have learned from these presentations!

Each presentation is typically half an hour, covering topics from the story of milk (from moo to you!), the importance of including dairy products in a healthy diet and, of course, why to buy products with the Real California Milk Seal! When contacting the teachers for the visits, I always make sure to ask about their specific class' background regarding the dairy industry. Of course, most of the students have little to no knowledge of how milk and dairy products are produced, but some exceptions always exist.

For example, the fifth grade class at Tomales Elementary School had an extensive knowledge of California's happy cows!  Out of the sixteen students in the class, 12 of them lived on a dairy or were closely related to someone who did. The class also had a local dairy producer talk to them before I visited, which made my job much easier. I was able to focus on the nutrition aspect of my presentation. We spent nearly an hour discussing dairy products' place in the food pyramid, the different nutrients, and how to build strong bones.

I always bring some great handouts from the Dairy Council of California. The papers are about the food pyramid, healthy snack ideas, how to live a healthy lifestyle, and explaining milk's nutrients. I think that these papers are great supplements for any health and nutrition class, and most teachers have thought so as well! Most classes were instructed to save their papers for the nutrition section later in the school year. Hopefully, the teachers will refer back to the papers and reinforce the many benefits of milk!

I also bring handouts and materials from the California Milk Advisory Board. For younger classes who are unfamiliar with the dairy industry, each student gets a "story of milk" coloring book. They follow along in their books as I explain the life of dairy cows and how the milk gets to the stores. At the end of each presentation, we have a review with lots of great prizes from the CMAB.

Coming up, I have school visits scheduled for a little farther from home, in Mendocino and Lake Counties.

In addition to school visits, I attended a North Bay Dairy Women committee meeting to plan our contest in April, where a new Dairy Princess will be chosen to represent the North Coast dairy community. The other dairy princesses from around the state and I attended a workshop at the CMAB office in Modesto to work on our school presentations. It was great to see the other girls and learn about their district's activities. Finally, I attended the January District Three CMAB meeting. I always enjoy going to these meetings and getting updated on the "behind the scenes" work. Local dairy producers are also always in attendance and always have input on the current state of the dairy industry. It is important to me to stay updated on California's dairy industry and the producers who are working so hard for us.

Remember, support California dairy producers - buy California dairy products!

Best wishes,
Mandy Brazil
District Three 1^st Alternate Dairy Princess