Healthy Schools Newsletter
From Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

April 2024

 In this Issue:

  1. Active & Safe School Zones Campaign

  2. Try this! Smile, Clap, Hurray - Energizer

  3. School highlights

  4. Upcoming dates

  5. Stay tuned!

We invite you to encourage your colleagues to subscribe to this newsletter to receive up-to-date and timely information from HPEPH.

Active & Safe School Zones

Active & Safe School Zones Campaign

The Quinte Region Traffic Coalition (QRTC) has received another grant to increase awareness of safe driving habits in school zones and to educate families on the benefits of engaging in active transportation to school. This initiative will involve installation of silhouettes of school-aged children, along with a sign reading “Slow Down for my Safety”. The campaign originally launched in Quinte West, but it will now expand to every municipality in Hastings and Prince Edward Counties. The silhouettes will be moved throughout the municipalities to different school zones, to encourage awareness throughout the region. The campaign had a lot of success in Quinte West, and we are excited to now be offering this to other schools in our area.

The goals of this campaign are to encourage parents to talk to their child/children about active school travel, help them to become familiar with active travel options, and encourage them to use active school travel more often. Parents can help encourage their child to choose safe and active transportation by having conversations about road safety, being a role model by going on walks together, discussing safety considerations, such as what to do before crossing a road and how weather conditions impact road safety, and more. All these conversations can also happen at school! Plan a classroom walk around the neighbourhood and use this as an opportunity to discuss road safety, pedestrian safety, and rules of the road. By using active transportation, students will get to know their community and their neighbours, improve their mental and physical health, and boost brain development which will help them to be ready to learn. If families need or choose to drive, schools can encourage families to ‘Drive to 5’, which means driving to a location that is within a five-minute walk from the school and walking with your child the rest of the way. Every step counts! Promoting active school travel will help decrease traffic congestion and increase road safety.

 

 

For educators

  • RoadSmarts4Kids! – digital road safety education resources include activities, challenges, downloadable lessons plans, presentations, videos, and the RoadSMARTS E-cademy virtual course.

Visit our Road and Off-Road Safety for Schools page for a variety of supporting materials including lesson plans, fact sheets and presentations, and home, school, and community partnership resources.

 

For administrators

 

Home, school and community partnership

Post on your school socials!

HPEPH has created active school travel social media messaging that you can cut, paste, and post as appropriate for your school community. Use one of the messages below or visit our communication resources for more options.

  • Walking, rolling, or running to school will help get your brain ready to learn! #activeschooltravel
  • Need to drive to school? Drive to 5! Drive your children to within a 5-minute walk from the school and walk or roll the rest of the way. #activeschooltravel
  • Keep our children safe! Always practice safe driving behaviours in school zones. #activeschooltravel
 

 

Looking to promote information to your school community on another topic? Visit our Newsletters and Social Media page for newsletters inserts, social media messages, and school announcements that be easily copied into your school promotional materials.

Try this!

Smile, Clap, Hurray! Energizer

  1. Explain to the students that when you call out a number from the chart, they will do the action for the corresponding letter. H- stand up and shout “Hurray!” and sit down, C-stand up and give 3 quick claps and sit down, S-stand up and look at the person that is close to you and give them your best Hollywood smile!
  2. Click here for the instructions and chart for three different adaptations. An easy activity to adapt to increase movement and heart rate!

Tag us! @hpepublichealth.

School highlights

Students at Coe Hill School continue to enrich their learning with their school gardens inside and outside! Coe Hill School has utilized their indoor tower garden to grow vegetables and flowers; the flowers were a treat to take home to their families which was a big hit! The outdoor gardens are a big part of the outdoor learning program and this year the school is planning to add drip hoses and sprinklers to help water the garden and to move some of the gardens to a safer location further from wildlife.

Here are some tips from Coe Hill School to help other schools grow their gardens:

  • You don’t need anything fancy. Stump seats and even just a few plants like beans, cucumber, and tomato are extremely satisfying.
  • Choose crops with an early (May-June) or late (fall) harvest – pumpkins are very popular.
  • Use school families or community volunteers to tend to the garden in the summer months.
  • Students and the community love to participate by bringing in seeds and seedlings.

Thank you to Coe Hill School for contributing to a healthy school community! Keep up the great work!

Upcoming dates
  • April: Spring into Spring - Schools can promote active school travel and encourage students to get active outdoors.
  • April: National Oral Health Month – The Canadian Dental Association has teaching resources to help promote the importance of oral health to children in a fun way.
  • April 10: International Day of Pink – This year’s theme is visibility. Staff and students are encouraged to wear pink to show their support of visibility in all its forms – being seen, acknowledged, respected, and listened to. Join in celebrating a day full of empowerment, authenticity, and the incredible power of unity. Together we stand united against injustices and raise our voices for those who need them the most.

Stay tuned!

Interested in mental health? Stay tuned for our May newsletter, which will feature information, announcements, and resources for students, staff, and families about mental health.

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

For other questions about Healthy Schools: healthyschools@hpeph.ca 

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