Keep ‘Em Fueled, Keep ‘Em Focused!

During the five weeks of B-SAFE 2016 we strive for our students to discover many wonders during field trips all around Massachusetts (and New Hampshire for our YLCers), enjoy the exciting educational activities at all six sites, and engage in a variety of enriching academics. In order to keep our students focused, we must also keep them fueled!

The first step that our students take in preparing for all of the fun-filled days that B-SAFE offers is by properly fueling their bodies with nutritious foods. Our staff and partner churches work hard to provide all of our young people with a sufficient amount of food everyday for both breakfast and lunch.

To ensure that everyone has enough energy, it is important to keep in mind that the most important meal of the day is the first meal of the day: BREAKFAST. Sites cook up a variety of breakfasts ranging from waffles and sausage to boxes of Cheerios and bananas

Unfortunately, when students don’t eat enough food at breakfast and lunch, they are sluggish and don’t have the energy to participate in all of the day's fun and enriching activities. Studies show that students who eat breakfast have higher test scores than students who skip the morning meal. Not only that, but in a recent study published in “Physiology and Behavior” researchers have found that students who enjoyed a low-glycemic breakfast were found to have higher levels of concentration, improved memory, and fewer signs of academic frustration in comparison to students who eat high-glycemic breakfasts! So, it is very important to keep in mind that not only should we continue to provide young people with the meals necessary for them to learn and explore, but also we must continue to pay attention to supplying the nutrients necessary for our students to succeed!

This is Maggie Carey's first summer as an Academic Intern for B-SAFE, and she will be working at Epiphany School in Dorchester this summer. Currently, Maggie is a rising senior studying psychology at College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, MA). She is the captain of the Division 1 Holy Cross Women's Soccer program, so she is very excited to be teaching/overseeing the Health and Wellness Curriculum this summer!