School Health Newsletter

Partnering for healthy schools

Connect with your school public health nurse for program information at 905-799-7700. In Caledon, call 905-584-2216.

Winter 2018

In this issue...

• March is Nutrition Month - “Unlock the Potential of Food”

• P.A.L.S. Don’t Wake the Bear

• School Travel Planning (STP)

• Make Fundraising Healthy and Profitable!

• Smoking Isn’t Cool: A Smoking Prevention Toolkit for Grades K – 5

• Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years)

• Bike to School Week 2018 is Coming This Spring!

• Peel Public Health School Dental Screening – Did you know?

schoolhealth101.ca

March is Nutrition Month - “Unlock the Potential of Food”

The Dietitians of Canada Nutrition Month 2018 campaign theme is Unlock the Potential of Food. This year’s campaign will help Canadians realize the potential of food to fuel, discover, prevent, heal and bring us together. Learn why dietitians believe in the power of food to enhance lives and improve health.

Take a look at all of the Nutrition Month resources and material that you can incorporate into your Nutrition Month activity planning, available at NutritionMonth2018.ca.

Examples of resources are:

Fact sheets to share with your school community such as:

• Potential to fuel: How to eat well and stay energized by including nutritious snacks as part of the day’s plan.

• Potential to discover: How to foster healthy eating habits in children by teaching them to shop and cook.

• Potential to bring us together: How food can have benefits when it brings families and friends together.

Recipes: Fifteen tantalizing recipes that you can print and distribute.

Cookspiration app: An enhanced app that contains great recipes and tips.

Canada Activity Map: View activities that are taking place in your area.

schoolhealth101.ca

P.A.L.S. motto:

“There’s always room for one more”

Don’t Wake the Bear Here’s a fun and interactive game to try at your school this winter! This game can be played both indoors and outdoors.

What’s Needed: • 3 or more players

• An open area with 2 “safe” boundaries

How to Play: • Choose someone to be the “bear”.

• The “bear” crouches in the middle of the playing area with his/her eyes closed like a hibernating bear.

• The other players creep from one side of the playing area to the other, trying not to wake the “bear”.

• If the “bear” wakes up when they are crossing, the other players must run to the boundary without getting tagged. If the “bear” tags someone, that player becomes a bear too.

• Only the most recently tagged “bear” can chase the players. The other “bears” hibernate in the centre.

• Play ends when there is only one person left untagged.

Variation: • All “bears” may tag other players.

For more active games, please visit: P.A.L.S. Games Handbook peelregion.ca/health/shp/pdfs/PALS_Game_Book.pdf, or CIRA Ontario: Active Playgrounds, by Pat Doyle, ciraontario.com/page/show/1212342-active-playgrounds.

Source: Winter Day Play by N. Castaldo, Chicago Review Press.

More than ever before, students are driven to and from school instead of using active transportation, such as walking or cycling. Using active transportation to and from school allows students to be more active every day and reduces traffic congestion around the school. How can we foster a healthy school community that supports walking and cycling, and contributes to the overall well-being of its students?

By implementing School Travel Planning (STP), your school public health nurse can work with your school to bring together school administrators, teachers, parents, students and members of the school community to address transportation-related issues and promote walking and cycling to and from school.

What are the benefits of School Travel Planning? • Increased physical activity among students• Improved mental well-being and academic

performance as a result of increased physical activity•Reduced traffic congestion around the school

and improved air quality•Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists• Increased school and community engagement•Receive a FREE Bike Rack (after completion of

setup and assessment of conditions)

What are the steps? The five step process brings together key partners to develop, implement and monitor a sustainable active transportation program in your school. In two to three years, STP will help create a supported school community for students to adopt and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

Contact your school public health nurse to learn more about STP at your school.Call 905-799-7700 or e-mail ZZG-SchoolHealth101@peelregion.ca.

School Travel

Planning Model

Assess Conditions

Setup

Create Action Plan

Implement Action Plan

Monitor, Improve & Celebrate

SchoolTravelPlanningUsing Active Transportation to Help Students Live Healthy, Active Lives

*

Receive a FREE

Bike Rack

More than ever before, students are driven to and from school instead of using active transportation, such as walking or cycling. Using active transportation to and from school allows students to be more active every day and reduces traffic congestion around the school. How can we foster a healthy school community that supports walking and cycling, and contributes to the overall well-being of its students?

By implementing School Travel Planning (STP), your school public health nurse can work with your school to bring together school administrators, teachers, parents, students and members of the school community to address transportation-related issues and promote walking and cycling to and from school.

What are the benefits of School Travel Planning? • Increased physical activity among students• Improved mental well-being and academic

performance as a result of increased physical activity•Reduced traffic congestion around the school

and improved air quality•Safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists• Increased school and community engagement•Receive a FREE Bike Rack (after completion of

setup and assessment of conditions)

What are the steps? The five step process brings together key partners to develop, implement and monitor a sustainable active transportation program in your school. In two to three years, STP will help create a supported school community for students to adopt and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

Contact your school public health nurse to learn more about STP at your school.Call 905-799-7700 or e-mail ZZG-SchoolHealth101@peelregion.ca.

School Travel

Planning Model

Assess Conditions

Setup

Create Action Plan

Implement Action Plan

Monitor, Improve & Celebrate

SchoolTravelPlanningUsing Active Transportation to Help Students Live Healthy, Active Lives

*

Receive a FREE

Bike Rack

School Travel Planning (STP) Resources Are you looking for ideas to help support your School Travel Planning (STP) Program? Check out Smart Commute (smartcommute.ca) a Program of METROLINX, for classroom lesson plans, bike booster sessions from Bike Brampton, action plan ideas and much more.

schoolhealth101.ca

Make Fundraising Healthy and Profitable! Tips to Increase Healthy School Environment through Fundraising

What is Healthy Fundraising?Fundraising with healthier food items or non-food options.

Why is Healthy Fundraising important?• It fosters a supportive healthy school environment.• It reinforces healthy eating messages students are learning in school.Some healthy food fundraising ideas include:• Fresh produce• Spices or herbs• Milk program

Some non-food fundraising ideas include:• Pedometers, frisbees, jump ropes• School spirit apparels (e.g., t-shirts, hats)• Book sales• Raffles for non-food or healthy food items

Fundraise with a Healthy Event!Healthy fundraisers also include hosting a healthy event such as a yogurt parfait or smoothie station instead of a bake sale, or an active event such as a walk-a-thon, ping pong challenge or golf/tennis tournament.

Need More Ideas?Check out the following resource links for more information:

Healthy Fundraising for Ontario Schools: Fresh from the Farm

Dairy Farmers of Canada: Elementary School Milk Program - Ontario

BrightBites: Show Me the Money Fundraising

Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice! Make healthy options the easy choice by creating a school-wide Pledge for Healthy Fundraising! This pledge will support a healthy community by ensuring healthier options are available for students and their families.

Fundraising! This pledge will support a healthy community by ensuring healthier options are available for students and their families.

Partnering for healthy schoolsCurriculum Corner

Smoking Isn’t Cool: A Smoking Prevention Toolkit for Grades K – 5

Need additional resources to support your healthy living curriculum in schools?

Knowing the facts about cigarettes and nicotine addiction will enhance your message as you teach your students about the harmful effects of smoking. “Smoking Isn’t Cool” offers teachers a sample lesson plan, support tools and materials to help teach smoking prevention to students in Kindergarten to Grade 5.

Examples of student activities include:

• Smokes and Ladders game

• Smoke-Free Fortune Teller game

• Word Search activity

• Crossword activity

Visit our website to download sample lesson plans and activities: peelregion.ca/health/tobacco/toolkit/lessons/sample.htm

The toolkits are loaned to teachers/schools in Peel Region for a two week period. Visit our website to order the toolkit: peelregion.ca/health/tobacco/toolkit/lessons/additional.htm

Canadian 24 Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (5-17 years)

The physical activity guidelines for children and youth have changed, incorporating physical activity, sedentary behaviours, sleep and screen time. The new 24 Hour Guidelines encourage children and youth to sweat, step, sleep and sit. The guidelines recommend that children and youth should have:

• At least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity;

• Several hours of a variety of light physical activities;

• 9 to 11 hours of sleep for 5-13 year olds; 8 to 10 hours of sleep for 14-17 year olds;

• No more than two hours per day of recreational screen time; and

• Limited sitting for an extended period of time.

Visit: Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology for more information on physical activity and to obtain a copy of the new 24 Hour Guidelines.

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schoolhealth101.ca

Bike to School Week 2018 is Coming This Spring!

Bike to School Week is a celebration launched across the GTHA to encourage cycling to and from school.

From May 29th to June 2nd, 2017, 15,000 students, in 150 schools across Peel registered for Bike to School Week and participated in exciting and educational activities about cycling. Activities ranged from bike rodeos and group rides, to school-wide contests for tons of great bike prizes - the list of fun activities during Bike to School Week 2017 were endless!

For more information about what schools did last year, and what to expect for Bike to School Week 2018, check out: storify.com/WalkandRollPeel. Stay tuned for more details on Bike to School Week 2018 in the upcoming Spring School Health Newsletter!

Peel Public Health School Dental Screening – Did you know?

Peel Public Health Registered Dental Hygienists and Certified Dental Assistants visit Peel elementary schools for dental screenings. Parents can contact their child’s school to find out when the free dental screening will be held.

What is a dental screening?

• A dental screening is a quick look inside each child’s mouth to check their teeth and gums.

• A separate, sterilized mouth mirror is used for each child.

• It identifies children who may need dental care. If a child is identified, a form will be sent home and parents may be contacted by a dental staff member.

• A dental screening does not replace regular dental visits.

• Learn about school dental screening at: peelregion.ca/dental/schoolscreening/index.htm

Children may qualify for free dental services through the Ontario Government. Call Peel Public Health at 905-799-7700 or toll free 1-888-919-7800 for more information.