Healthy Schools Newsletter for Educators
From Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

November 12, 2021

 In this Issue:

1. Injury Prevention
2. Substance Use and Addictions Awareness
3. Flu Vaccines

Welcome to November’s HPEPH Healthy Schools Newsletter!

Each month over the course of the school year, we will issue a Healthy Schools Newsletter which will highlight a few timely and relevant School Health topics. Newsletters will include general information, curriculum supports and other resources to support communication with students and families.

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

Injury Prevention

During the month of November, we are highlighting injury prevention. While the concept of injury prevention covers many topics, the resources provided below focus on concussions, preventing falls, and road/off-road safety. Many Canadian children are injured while engaging in sports and recreation activities, and while we want to encourage these activities, it’s important to make sure they are played safely. School communities are great places to encourage safe play and raise awareness of road and off-road safety as children walk, ride or roll to school. The resources below will help encourage these behaviours in order to protect the well being of students.

School Staff and Education Resources

• Ontario Physical Education Safety Standards – Learn the safety standards for every sport whether it is curricular, interschool or intramural. This is a great resource for educators to ensure students are having fun and being safe.
• Concussion Awareness - Rowan's Law – An excellent resource for educators to identify the signs of concussions, what to do when you suspect a concussion. This link also includes awareness videos.
• Safety in School Zones – This resource includes great ideas for schools to help make their school zones as safe as possible, and improve safety for students who walk/cycle/ride to school.

Home-School Connection Resources

• Safety and Injury Prevention at Home – The Canadian Pediatrics Society has put together injury prevention resources for parents to help prevent injuries at home, at play, on the move and in all weather conditions.
• Concussion Awareness for Parents and Caregivers – Parents can learn how to identify concussions, and what their child should/shouldn’t do in the case of a concussion.
• Road Safety (ATVs, Pedestrians, Bicycles, Car Seats) – Parents have a large role to play in teaching their kids how to walk, cycle and ride safely. This resource has many different topic areas related to road safety to explore.

If you are receiving questions from parents/caregivers that should be answered by public health, they can call us at 613-966-5500 or 1-800-267-2803.

Additional Resources

• Young Cyclist Guide (Grades 4-8) – Information on cycling equipment, riding tips and rules of the road to help cyclists engage safely with all road users.
• Cyclist Guide (Grade 9-12) – Guide to cycling safety. Whether you are a new or experienced cyclist, this guide can help you understand the rules of the road and proper equipment needed.
• csvbelleville.com – Children’s Safety Village of Belleville is an excellent resource for schools, parents and caregivers to help children understand the importance of taking safety precautions and how to interact safely as a pedestrian and cyclist.

Suggested Social Media Messages for Use with School Families

• Suggested social media messages and newsletter inserts related to injury prevention are available on our Newsletters and Social Media page (password: schools).

Substance Use and Addictions Awareness

HPEPH is aware that the predominance of vapes and vaping devices is affecting school environments in our region. The impact of nicotine on attention, memory, focus and mood is well documented, and its effect on the developing brain is even more pronounced.

One of the best things a caring adult can do to help youth avoid the risks of vaping, is to learn about vapes so they are able to have open, honest, and informed conversations with youth. Being able to have these conversations is important – regardless of whether the youth are currently using vaping products or not. Our School Health Public Health Nurses are trained in Tobacco & Vaping cessation, allowing them to support students who are looking to quit.

School Staff and Education Resources

• Talking About....Series: Health and Physical Education (HPE) Ontario Curriculum Links – The Ontario Lung Health Foundation’s Talking About…Series has been designed to meet a portion of the overall and specific expectations outlined in the “Substance Use and Abuse” component of the HPE Curriculum for Grades 7-12.
• Vaping Prevention Lessons: Grades 7 and 8 – This resource, which has been created by the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board in collaboration with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, offers vaping prevention lessons for Grades 7 and 8

Home-School Connection Resources

• Not an Experiment - Make Vaping a Part of the Conversation – Encouraging parents and caregivers to talk to their kids and help them sort out fact from fiction is the first step in preventing a whole new generation from getting addicted to nicotine.

Additional Resources

• Talking About...Series – The Ontario Lung Health Foundation’s Talking About…Series is an educational resource that helps leaders address lung health issues with youth. The series includes a set of activity guides to help facilitate critical discussion with young people in a fun and informative manner.
• Pursue Your Passion – The Pursue Your Passion website aims to share information and provide resources to give you the opportunity to build your own sessions and increase awareness of the potential effects of cannabis use.
• 360° Brain – The "360 Brain" is a great tool for teachers to help frame any discussions around drugs/the brain/impacts on youth. This tool really helps reiterate the connection between chemical and brain)

Suggested Social Media and Newsletter Messages for Use with School Families

Suggested social media messages and newsletter inserts related to substance use are available on our Newsletters and Social Media page (password: schools).

Flu Vaccines

Getting the flu vaccine is important this year for all residents – including school staff! The flu vaccine helps reduce your risk of illness, which is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic. As many people are vulnerable to serious risks related to the flu, everyone can help reduce the spread by getting vaccinated. Your choice to get vaccinated will also help ensure critical health care resources are available to those who need them most.

For the best protection, get your flu vaccine as soon as possible through your health care provider or a pharmacy. As public health resources continue to be redeployed to the COVID-19 pandemic, HPEPH is not able to offer community flu clinics to the public this year.

For more information, visit https://www.ontario.ca/page/flu-facts.

Additional Resources

• HPEPH Flu web page – Information about Influenza and the Influenza vaccine
• Influenza (Flu) Vaccine Fact Sheet – Information on Influenza and the Influenza Vaccine
• Seasonal Influenza Fact Sheet – Information on Influenza

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

To give us your comments about this e-newsletter: hart.sara@hpeph.ca

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

You have received this email at from Hastings Prince Edward Public Health as a result of a request you have made or due to a service/subscription that you are registered for. While you may discontinue your subscription to this mailing at any time by pressing the unsubscribe button below, please note that this bulletin will be used to provide important updates about infectious and communicable disease.