Southampton - Jill Jayne was a rock star and a licensed dietitian. She had apples, she had oranges, but nevertheless managed to mesh them together into a single career. She is the one and only, entirely original Rock Star Nutritionist, and on Friday, she brought the crowd at Southampton Intermediate School to their feet in what was part jam session and part lesson on how to live a healthy lifestyle.

The Rock Star Nutritionist shows the fifth- and sixth-grade crowd just how much sugar goes into the average bottle of Gatorade.

In two 90-minute segments on Friday, Jayne captivated the crowd at Southampton Intermediate School – first the seventh- and eighth-graders, and later the fifth- and sixth-graders. Jayne focused on eight ways to lead a healthy lifestyle: more water, fruits and vegetables, dairy and exercise, reasonable portion size, as well as less junk food, fast food and sedentary behavior. She delivered her message in a variety of ways, all of which drew the attention of those in attendance.

"There's something about the multiple modalities of learning," Jayne said afterward. "They're seeing me, they're seeing me role model, they hear me say it, they're doing it, and dancing is exercise. All these elements are pulled together, plus these things I repeat – it's my body, it's my choice, this is what I'm doing, we're all in this together, respect for myself and for others. It's all about nutrition but it's also about the bigger picture."

Jayne is a licensed nutritionist and dietitian for the Healthy Children, Healthy Futures campaign, which was brought to the Island for the first time courtesy of the Ann Liguori Foundation, which funded a 12-24 week program in Southampton beginning with this school year. The program is not only designed to teach children and their parents about the good nutrition but also encourages them to advocate for such dieting in their schools and communities. Upon the completion of the assembly, kids were asked to form media campaigns describing the benefits of eating right and exercising regularly, with the top presenters being invited to join Liguori on her weekly radio program on WLIU 88.3 FM (Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)

She kicked off each session by welcoming kids up front to exhibit their dance moves and then introduced who she was and why she was there. Her main message was "if you work for your body, your body will work for you," and that the foods and drinks high in empty calories that lead to an energy burst early and a crash later. She also explained the math of profit margin - such as a $4 energy drink costing mere pennies to produce in part because of low-quality ingredients. The list of no-nos included 7-11's Double Big Gulp, which has 59 teaspoons of sugar and 800 calories, as well as everything from fast food to Froot Loops.

Jayne and Co. mixed in some moonwalk with advice on how to carry out a healthy lifestyle.

Another major facet to her presentation was showing how advertising ingrains itself in the public's minds with catchy jingles and phrases, and how it works to draws the readers', listeners' or watchers' attention even though the messaging and imagery might be completely unrelated to the product. "I asked them if they thought advertising influenced them at the beginning and they said 'I'm not sure' but then I asked a second time and they had reason to believe that it did," said Jayne.

Of course, the only way one could end such a day was with one final show on stage. The kids crowded the front while Jayne and four energetic students rocked out on oversized microphones and inflatable musical instruments. One longtime teacher called it the best assembly in her 30 years at the school.

HCHF chairwoman B.J. Carter worked with Liguori to bring the wellness program to the school and expressed their delight with Jayne's presentation and message to the kids. "Jill's assisting in kicking off the nutrition education program that teachers added to the curriculum," said Liguori, who spearheads HCHF's fundraising campaign with the Ann Liguori Foundation Outback Steakhouse Dinner Dance at Duckwalk Vineyards every summer and the Ann Liguori Foundation Charity Golf Classic at Maidstone Club. "She has so much fun, brings so much energy and gets the entire middle school psyched about the program."

Carter also said that inroads are being made to bring Springs School students to Southampton for a day to take part in future appointments with the Rock Star Nutritionist.

Music has been a major part of Jayne's life for its entirety. She toured for three years on the Vans Warped Tour as singer/songwriter for the band Sunset West, which also consists of her brother, Mark. They also appeared on FOX's "The Next Greatest Band" in October 2007. While she rocked, she hit the books, earning a bachelor's degree in nutrition and theater from Penn State and a master's in nutrition education from Columbia.

Her show began in, of all places, Central Park, where she performed for nothing more than the tips put in a pot. She refined her approach and refined it some more, ultimately resulting in a high-energy, impact exhibition that she has put on at schools throughout the Tri-State area. For the elementary school children, Jayne has an entire lineup of original music. Later this month, she'll put on 10 exhilarating shows in a single week. In Southampton, the message's effectiveness increased because the students weren't taking notes and weren't in classrooms, but were learning from someone who spoke like them, goofed around like them and maybe even looked like them.

"It's my dream job," Jayne said. "I'm able to put all my skills and knowledge into one thing to make it my custom career. It's not something everybody can do, but I really enjoy it."

Committee member Evelyn DeVito, radio personality Ann Liguori, Rock Star Nutritionist Jill Jayne and Healthy Children Healthy Futures chairwoman B.J. Carter.