Healthy Schools Newsletter
From Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

June 2024

 In this Issue:

1. Pride in HPE Schools

2. Try this! Three new DPA ideas

3. School highlight - North Hastings High School

4. Canada's Food Guide - Toolkit for Educators

5. Complete our Healthy Schools Survey

6. Upcoming dates

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

Pride in HPE Schools

Pride celebrates the identities, achievements and resilience of people who identify as 2SLGBTQI+ (2-Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex). It is called ‘Pride’ because it is meant to encourage the self-affirmation of the community, increase its visibility, and honor the activists who have and continue to fight for the rights of 2SLGBTQI+ folks.

Celebrating Pride at school

The simple act of displaying a Pride flag or wearing a Pride button can send a strong message of inclusivity and support for the 2SLGBTQI+ community. Despite the growing international movement for recognition and protection, many 2SLGBTQI+ people suffer from feelings of isolation or ostracization. Consider raising the Pride flag at your school to show solidarity and demonstrate commitment to fostering safe and welcoming places for all 2SLGBTQI+ students and staff. Consider participating in local Pride events or create your own school events.

Schools can celebrate Pride month by engaging in learning that reflects the experiences and perspectives of 2SLGBTQI+ communities. This could include:

• creating artwork and posters (writing positive messages around school or sidewalks),
• organizing walks or picnics,
• organizing presentations or workshops,
• providing library displays with books representing 2SLGBTQI+ stories and identities,
• making buttons and/or T-shirts,
• researching 2SLGBTQI+ activists, or
• learning about the history and meaning behind the Pride flag.

For educators

Tips for creating inclusive classrooms:

• Familiarize yourself with the proper vocabulary to describe and include a wide variety of gender identities and sexual orientations. Acronyms like 2SLGBTQI+ are ever evolving and may or may not relate to how someone identifies themselves. 
• De-gender your language to normalize diverse experiences and identities. Instead of saying “boys and girls,” you can use gender-neutral terms like students, team, or friends. Instead of saying “mom and dad,” you can say parents, guardians, family, or folks. Instead of separating students by gender, establish groups using birth month, favourite food, pets at home, sock colour, you name it!
• Introduce pronouns into the classroom - and know what to do when mistakes are made. You can find a guide on using pronouns as an educator at egale.ca. 
• Normalize 2SLGBTQI+ people and families. Present stories that encompass different family arrangements, like those featuring households with a single parent or two dads. Display images in the classroom with a diverse representation of people and families.
• Build 2SLGBTQI+ spaces at your school by supporting and strengthening your school’s GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance).

Did you know?

HPEPH school-based public health clinics offer 2SLGBTQI+ supports and services!

Staff on the HPEPH school health team have taken the Rainbow Health Ontario 2SLGBTQ Foundations course, to increase our comfort level and competency in providing high-quality inclusive, affirming, welcoming, culturally sensitive care.

Home, school and community partnership

Post on your school socials!

HPEPH has created Pride Month 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 2SLGBTQI+ Support Resources for a full list.

• (School name) aims to be an inclusive space for everyone to be accepted, represented, and respected. It’s about honoring our diversity, identities and what makes us special! #pride #pridemonth
• Pride month is an opportunity to celebrate inclusiveness and diversity! #pride #pridemonth
• Choose Love. Celebrate Pride month. #pride #pridemonth

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

Try this!

TRY THIS! Three new DPA ideas

• Move with cards – All you need is two or more decks of playing cards to get students moving with this activity. 
• Alphabet Actions – Spell out your favourite word using the actions in the link.
• 5 Minute Move videos – Check out these fun quick workouts with Body Coach TV.

There are 100+ more DPA ideas that include videos, posters and activity sheets at dpatoolkit.ca. Let’s get moving! 

Tag us! @hpePublicHealth.

School highlights

New resources

We want to hear from you!

Upcoming dates

Stay tuned!

We will be back next year with more evidence-based resources to support your classroom and school community. Have a wonderful summer!

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

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

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