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Directors Corner
2022 for Santa Cruz County Extension is off to a fantastic start. Our Family Resource Centers
and youth programs continue to serve hundreds of families in our community. And our
university experts are offering training and classes in horticulture, nutrition and wellness, and
financial planning. We are excited for the year to come to continue working to make our
community and our home a healthy and more prosperous place. We are always available to
work with you to apply science and research to help grow better crops and livestock, help
residents live healthy lives and help educate our children as they look towards the future.
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Childcare Health Consultant and the Family Resource Center support ECE Awareness Campaign
By Jennifer Argyros
Santa Cruz County proclaims February as Early Childhood Awareness month. Alfredo Velasquez, the Santa Cruz County School Superintendents office with First Things First and University of Arizona Cooperative Extensions partner with both the City of Nogales and the County of Santa Cruz to raise awareness of the importance of the first 5 years of a child’s life.
Early Childhood research shows children’s experiences in their early years affect how their brain develops. Research has also proven that children with quality early childhood experiences and education can have a long-term effect of reducing child abuse, crime rates and unemployment.
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The goals of Early Childhood Education Awareness month are to:
- Raise awareness of the support systems available to families with children birth to 5 years old
- Acknowledge the work of Early Childhood Educators
- Inform the community that kindergarten readiness begins at birth
- Spread the word to business industry and those who might not otherwise know the importance of early childhood education
Both the Santa Cruz Family Resource Center and the Childcare Health Consultant (CCHC) serve on the ECE awareness committee which is comprised of a total of 8 community agencies to help plan events for the campaign. Karla de la Cruz, the CCHC in Santa Cruz County offered an ACE’s training to early childhood educators as part of the campaign. The professional development was well attended with 30 participants.
Other events include a social media and public awareness campaign, recognition of professionals who have made a difference in early childhood and a family art’s event.
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Commercial Horticulture Area Agent has a New Webpage for Santa Cruz County!
Visit https://extension.arizona.edu/commercial-horticulture to find out more about this program in Santa Cruz focusing on small- and large-scale production of fruits, nuts, and grape vines, with a main priority to educate producers on sustainable methods to reduce their inputs while still maintaining economic yields.
The Commercial Horticulture and Livestock program of Santa Cruz County are organizing a Southern Arizona Beginning Farmers and Ranchers class series. Go to https://tinyurl.com/2px7kxxp for the details and registration.
The Commercial Horticulture program will be creating a ‘Viticulture Video Series’ with Santa Cruz County viticulturists and wine makers in the next few months. The videos will be used for instructing middle- and high-school students on the different careers and pathways available to them in the Arizona viticulture industry.
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AZ Health Zone CE Santa Cruz County (SCC), EFNEP and Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)
By Chris Bachelier,
Nutrition Education Program Director
Currently the AZ Health Zone CE SCC, EFNEP and DPP programs are providing programs throughout Nogales and Rio Rico. The AZ Health Zone CE SCC is predominantly working with the schools in both communities as well as Early Childhood centers in Nogales and hopes to expand to Rio Rico home providers this spring. EFNEP is providing adult and youth nutrition education classes in partnership with the Family Resources centers, Head Starts, schools and local community agencies. The Diabetes Prevention Program is currently recruiting adults who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes for their program.
AZ Health Zone CE SCC is offering Technical Assistance to the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District, School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) as they plan staff wellness initiatives and prepare for an ADE audit for the School Lunch and Breakfast programs.
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Currently the AZ Health Zone is working with the following schools in Rio Rico and Nogales to enhance and implement their wellness policy initiatives in collaboration with School Health Coordinators at each site.
- Rio Rico High School
- Coatimundi Middle School
- Calabasas School
- San Cayetano Elementary School
- Mountain View Elementary School.
- Lincoln Elementary School
- Mary Welty Elementary School
- Mexicayotl Academy
- Colegio Petite Elementary
Please feel free to reach out to Chris Bachelier bachelie@email.arizona.edu if you have any questions.
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Positive Discipline and Financial Literacy Workshops
By Ana Laura Prado
Community Outreach Assistant II
The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Santa Cruz County (UACE, SCC) offers free Positive Discipline workshops and resources to help parents/caregivers improve family management, develop self-discipline, responsibility, cooperation, and problem-solving skills. Positive Discipline is an engaging and creative curriculum that can be used from age three through the teenage years; it’s an evidence-informed curriculum that helps parents change the way they look at their children.
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UACE, SCC also offers Financial Literacy workshops. There is a one-time workshop, titled Where Does Your Money Go?, which provides participants with the tools to help reduce financial stress, increase savings, improve credit, and take control of their personal finances. There is also a 4-part series, titled Building Financial Security for Self, Your Family, and Community, which incorporates lessons from several research-based curricula and provides participants with knowledge and skills to create a more financially secure household. The workshops cover knowledge and skill development in money management, credit, debt management, risk management, investing, and retirement planning using best practices in the field of financial literacy and education.
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All workshops are offered in English and Spanish. For more information, please visit the following websites.
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Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)
The EFNEP program continues to provide Nutrition Education to families with young children, and their caregivers. The program recently started a new curriculum and participants will learn about increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, lean proteins, how to read a food label, increasing physical activity, food safety and other topics.
EFNEP classes have also been offered in both Nogales and Rio Rico at the following sites.
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- Coatimundi Middle School,
- Rio Rico Family Resource Center,
- Head Start in Rio Rico
- Colegio Petite Elementary
- Nogales Head Start
- Challenger Head Start
- Nogales Family Resource Center
- Boys and Girls Club of Santa Cruz County
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Currently we are recruiting for both youth and adult classes please contact Diana Yanez yanezolivas@email.arizona.edu Margarita Jacobo mj26@email.arizona.edu or Aileen Cruz acruz32@email.arizona.edu for more information
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Diabetes Prevention Program Have you or someone you know been recently told their blood sugar is too high, or that they have pre-diabetes? UA Coop Ext has a Diabetes Prevention Program that can help. Please see information below or visit www.preventdiabetesAZ.org
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In the picture from left to right are 4-H Youth Club Members: Carlos Delgado, 4-H State Ambassador in Healthy Living; Diego Serrano, Pablo Araujo, Julian Garcia, Andres Villasenor, 4-H State Ambassador in Citizenship; and Norma Elisa Ruiz
On November 17th of 2021, 4-H Youth Members participated in the 5th Annual Meet and Greet Event hosted by Santa Cruz County Schools’ Superintendent, Alfredo Velasquez, Promoting Healthy Students Initiative, and CCRT. The event took place at the Santa Cruz County Complex Courtyard in Nogales, Arizona where distinct organizations from the community gathered to network and showcase the resources that are available in the community for youth and their families.
As representatives of The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and 4-H Youth Development Program of Santa Cruz County, active members Carlos Delgado, Diego Serrano, Pablo Araujo, Julian Garcia and Andres Villaseñor did a fantastic job informing school principals, counselors, teachers, administrators, agencies and the community on the fun and engaging educational opportunities and projects that 4-H has to offer to all youth in the county. In addition, they shared their experiences and the benefits of being a member of the 4-H Youth Development Program of Santa Cruz County.
As interested members of the community approached the 4-H Youth Development booth, the youth ambassadors sprang into action to proudly speak on the STEM YOUniversity programs that are existing and on-going in the county such as: Cross Reality XR, Mars Base Camp, Lego Robotics, Underwater Robotics, Greenhouse Sustainable Energy Engineering Design Project, 4-H In-Space Mission Command Team Project, and 4-H Tech Changemakers. One story in particular by Diego Serrano, gained special attention from School Administrators.
When asked about his experience with 4-H programs, Diego happily commented that the Augmented Reality and Robotics programs were fascinating, engaging, and taught valuable skills that can be applied to a future career. He went on to say that he wished these programs were available at his school as well, which really excited the audience about the potential that STEM and 4-H have in Santa Cruz County.
For more information about our 4-H Youth Development Program, please contact Norma Elisa Ruiz at: normaelisaruiz@arizona.edu. You may also follow us on Instagram: @uasantacruzcounty4h, Santa Cruz County 4-H, Arizona, or Santa Cruz County 4-H | Cooperative Extension | The University of Arizona.
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