About the school health team
The School Health Team supports schools within the KFL&A area through a comprehensive school health approach that offers curriculum-based programs and services to assist schools and educators in promoting and creating safe and healthy lifestyles and environments for students.
A public health nurse is assigned to each family of schools and is available to assist your school and answer any questions you may have.
Healthy school activities include:
- Providing health education supports and resources to all school community members.
- Being a part of a team that fosters a positive school climate and student well being.
- Supporting the implementation of school health policies.
- Linking teachers to health education resources.
- Facilitating healthy schools committees, and promoting student leadership and engagement.
- Collaborating with parents, educator, and students to improve the school's overall health.
Positive role modelling
Positive role modelling is a powerful strategy that crosses over the areas of healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health promotion. Learn more about opportunities to model healthy behaviours within the school environment in our A Tool For Every Educator video:
A tool for every educator (transcript) |
Words on screenA Tool for Every EducatorNarratorIn many ways educators are one of the most important role models that students will have. Positive role modeling is a powerful strategy that crosses over areas of healthy eating, physical activity, and mental health promotion.Words on screenHealthy eatingPhysical activity And mental health promotion. NarratorAs an educator you can optimize your positive influence by recognizing the opportunities within the school day to model healthy behaviours.Words on screenPractical waysPositive role-modelling Positively impact NarratorThis video will suggest practical to incorporate positive role-modeling into your teaching practice and positively impact the health and well-being of your students.Students who are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses and feel good about themselves often have an easier time handling conflict and resisting negative pressures. Words on screenFocusing on each student’s positive qualities, efforts, skills, and talents will help students develop self-awareness and build confidence.NarratorYou can help students develop this self-awareness and build confidence by focusing on each student’s positive qualities, efforts, skills and talents.Educators can help students to look at media messages critically and see how unrealistic many of these images are. Healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes. By recognizing that health looks different for everyone, you can shift the focus from weight to health and create an environment where students of all body shapes and sizes are accepted. Words on screenHealthy bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes.NarratorWhen teaching about healthy eating focus on the importance of food to give us energy to learn, play, grow, and keep our bodies functioning.Words on screenHigh-nutrient foods equal everyday foodsNarratorRefer to foods that are high in nutrients as every day foods. These foods will give us the energy and nutrients that our bodies need to thrive.Words on screenEnergyNutrients To thrive Words on screenLow-nutrient foods equal sometimes foodsNarratorFoods which are low in nutrients should be thought of as sometimes foodsWords on screenReward students with fun activities or special privileges.NarratorUsing foods to reward students has many negative consequences and can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead focus on rewarding students with fun activities or special privileges.Words on screenFocus on helping students build skills related to healthy eating, active living, media messaging, and self-acceptance.NarratorResearch shows that teaching students about eating disorders within the context of healthy eating can be harmful and it is best to focus on healthy eating, active living, media messaging, and self-acceptance.NarratorAny discussion of disordered eating and eating disorders fits within the context of mental illness found in the mental health curriculum. Educators can help all students develop fundamental movement skills such as running, hopping, throwing, catching, and jumping.Words on screenHelp students to view physical activity as a normal, fun, and positive experience.NarratorGive students the opportunity to practice these skills, set personal goals, and build their confidence based on their own individual needs and physical abilities. Just like reading and writing, movement skills are developed over time. As children learn how to move their bodies they gain confidence and develop important physical literacy skills.Words on screenA Tool for Every EducatorFind the complete Tool for Every Educator resource and a list of curriculum supports at www.kflaph.ca NarratorWhen the concepts from this video are put into practice, educators can have a tremendously positive impact on the health and well-being of their students and the whole school environment. |
Resources
- Ophea: On this site you will find information on Teaching Tools, Professional Learning, and Healthy Schools Certification. Login using your school board password, and browse by topic or grade. You will find ready-to-go resources to help you implement physical activity and Health & Physical Education (H&PE), and build healthy active schools and communities.
- Canadian Association for Public Health (CASH): A national association composed of provincial and territorial coalitions whose members promote the health of children and youth through school-related health promotion (Comprehensive School Health). The Association has developed a research and documentation centre, the Canadian Centre on Community and School health. This centre contains over 7,000 selected documents. CASH has also co-developed a comprehensive gateway website on safe and healthy schools. As well, the Association offers an email listserve that clips media reports, announcements, research and other information.
- Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition (OHSC): A coalition supporting 'Healthy Schools' for the optimal health and learning of Ontario's children and youth. This website provides information about the coalition and healthy school resources.
- Ministry of Education - Healthy Schools: This Ministry website provides information, publications, and links for topics related to Healthy Schools.