2nd annual Share, Inspire, Celebrate Event
Healthy Schools Team 2012
On Thursday April 26, 2012 students, teachers, school administrators and other members of the school community celebrated their successes in creating healthier school environments during the second annual Share, Inspire, Celebrate event hosted by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit’s Healthy Schools team. All schools were invited and seven were able to come and share their experiences with various health promotion projects, events, and strategies for policy development.
This event was an opportunity to connect with our school communities, celebrate together their many successes and learn from their particular stories. It will be held annually to inspire more innovative initiatives and acknowledge those people leading the charge towards healthy school environments.
Bishop Gallagher:
Intramural Activities
Physical Activity and healthy eating are the two health initiatives Bishop Gallagher’s Healthy School team has decided to focus on for this school year.
A Non-Traditional, Peer led Intramural Program was created to try to get kids out and active. As opposed to playing regular sports, (ie: basketball, volleyball) students are invited to come out and play non traditional games like dodgeball, soccer baseball and flicker ball on Friday mornings before school. The programs is led by Peer Leaders who choose the activity they will play that week, advertise it to students, and run the activity on Fridays. It is a great way to get out and have some fun in the gym on Fridays!
In the BG tuck shop, students can enjoy a slushy made with 100% real fruit juice. The Slushies are a hot seller and great alternative to Ice Cream Sandwiches that were sold in the past. As the weather warms, students will be taking advantage of this healthy twist on an old favourite!
Edgewater:
Healthy Schools Club Initiatives
Edgewater Park’s Healthy School committee focused on improving the health within their school community by building on their hard work from last year. The goal for the year was to promote healthy eating among students and staff and they accomplished this by organizing a variety of activities to introduce healthy food options. Some of the activities brought to the school through the Healthy Schools committee include the Big Crunch, Sensible Snacks, hummus and edamame taste test, and the Battle of the Beverages interactive display. Way to go on another great year!
Holy Family:
Tuck Shop
In the 2011/2012 school year, Holy Family school open a healthy tuck shop. This initiative was developed with the collaboration of grade 6 students, the grade 6 teacher and principal. The team purchased healthy alternative snacks that "meet the grade" and found that buying from local vendors and selling a variety of products, were key points in the program's success.
Nor’wester View:
Healthy School Environment
Nor'wester View School is proud of its Healthy Schools Culture! Active living and healthy choices have been the focus for the year - combining fun, school spirit and leadership opportunities for the whole school! Students have participated in Active Playgrounds, Healthy Lunches, Jimmy the Germ-hand washing workshop all the while empowering our students to become leaders in the programs we provided. It was a highly successful approach that benefitted our entire student body.
Sir Winston Churchill Collegiate and Vocational Institute:
Food Ambassadors
The student food ambassadors, called the Healthy Helpers, have been working hard with the environmental science class to bring local and healthy food to Churchill’s students. The 100K day was a great success again this year with 3 classes participating in cooking food from within 100 kilometres of the city over an open fire. Smoothies were provided at school dances and samples of cafeteria fare were given out in the halls to promote the new healthy menu. The environmental science class focuses on sustainable agriculture and grows food in the classroom, in their greenhouse and in their school garden, which is also used by the Grade 7/8 program and is available to the community as well. The majority of the produce grown is given to the cafeteria for lunch items. Finally, many groups in the school have teamed up to offer the breakfast program with hot options available as often as possible.
St. Bernard:
Healthy Schools Club
St. Bernard's Healthy Schools Club developed and implemented numerous student-led initiatives throughout this school year. Our food group super heroes were in full swing, running a "get caught" lunch program. The great big crunch event, where all students ate an apple at the same time, was a great addition to our super hero's healthy eating message. A new healthy living workshop ran for 2 days teaching students about healthy eating and physical activity. The students also created a school-wide Daily Physical Activity (DPA) resource where the students led the school in classroom based activities over the intercom system.
Superior Collegiate and Vocational Institute:
Food Ambassadors
The Food for Thought committee of student food ambassadors has been busy with a variety of initiatives this school year. Most of the funds for their activities have come from sales of coupon books filled with specials for local vendors selling healthy living items. Their weekly free salad bar ran for 8 weeks during first semester. Now they will be branching out and offering stir-fry lunches for a few weeks to see how students like the dish. They have also been selling smoothies at lunch time and sell-out in no time! Their energy drink campaign raised awareness of the dangers of energy drinks through a homemade video, black roses, and information delivered by teachers. But they aren’t done yet – they still have plans for more fun activities in the coming months before summer vacation!
To view other stories or to inspire other schools: calling all school educators, students, and parents we want hear what your school has done to make it a healthier place to live, learn, and play!
Please contact Christie at: 625-5972