One hundred eighty-one parents and students came to the Watson Elementary School on May 12, 2016 for a Family Fun Night organized by Partners School Wellness Coordinator Marcia Picard. The program engages both adults and children in some healthy movement while learning about nutrition and a range of community resources that they can access to maintain or improve their health. Participants were led in twenty-minute sessions of fun movement to music led by Fitness Leader Mike Ramos and Fall River School Physical Education Teacher Jason Springer. A twenty-minute session on nutrition was led by staff from the UMass SNAP-ED Nutrition Program who prepared a couscous dish. Participants also had the opportunity to speak with representatives of eleven agencies including the Bristol County District Attorney's Office, Child and Family Services, Children's Advocacy Center, Early Childhood/Family Community Engagement, Fall River Parent Academy, Mass in Motion/Walk Fall River, HealthFirst Dental Clinic, People Incorporated, Saint Anne's Hospital, the WIC Program, and  Partners for a Healthier Community covering its Soda-Free Challenge. Click here for a 36-minute video of the event. Click here for photos and video of a similar event at the South Elementary School. For more information, contact School Wellness Coordinator Marcia Picard at 774-319-0107.

(Top row) Diane Conway, Ashley Simas and Melissa Amaral welcome parents and children and give them their door prize tickets before Partners School Wellness Coordinator Marcia Picard kicks off the program in the cafeteria. (Rows two and three) Fitness Leader Mike Ramos and Fall River School Physical Education Teacher Jason Springer, right, lead each of the groups in some fun movement. (Rows four and five) SNAP-ED Nutrition Educators Sue Loughlin, Jessica Tabaczynski and Lindsey Magan demonstrate an easy couscous recipe. (Rows six, seven and eight) As people receive couscous recipes on the way out of the cafeteria, others listen as Jack Shipley of Partners for a Healthier Community talks about reducing sugar-sweetened beverages as part of its Soda-Free Challenge. (Row eight, center and right) Julie Kelly of Mass in Motion/Walk Fall River talks about the new Quequechan River Rail Trail. (Row nine) Saint Anne's Hospital Social Worker Carrie Matheus hands out materials about their programs, Maureen Estes-Ryan and Margo Waddicor talk about the Early Childhood/Family Community Engagement Program, and Lizette Marques and Erika Moniz describe some of the programs at People Incorporated. (Bottom row) Watson Staff Member Elizabeth Couto draws a winning door prize ticket for Kiarra Sanchez who won one of ten bags of groceries donated by Southcoast Health.