WHAT WE HEARDHealthy Students / Healthy Schools
APRIL 13 - 15 2012
FOURTH ANNUAL
SPEAK OUT CONFERENCE
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HEALTHY STUDENTS / HEALTHY SCHOOLS
Background During the fourth Annual Speak Out Conference, a workshop called Healthy Students / Healthy
Schools gave students an opportunity to speak out on three priority areas of health in education:
physical activity, healthy eating and positive social environment. Participants were challenged to
provide input on what schools should offer to help students develop healthy lifelong behaviours.
According to Statistics Canada,1 the percentage of Canadian children and adolescents who are
overweight or obese has climbed considerably over the past 25 years. In 2004, 26 per cent of
children and adolescents aged two to 17 were overweight or obese based on body mass index
(BMI). This marks a 70 per cent increase compared with the 1978–1979 levels. While BMI on its
own is not an entirely accurate measure, it is a strong gauge of where we are as a culture and
where we are going. It is widely understood that obesity can lead to diabetes, hypertension,
heart disease and other issues. But what’s equally important and often overlooked is that
obesity can also cause children to struggle with social acceptance, depression, bullying, body
image and self-esteem.
It is internationally recognized that the school setting provides a unique opportunity to
significantly and positively influence students and provide access to regular physical activity and
healthy eating choices. The Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop was developed as an
extension of two key initiatives in Alberta Education: the Framework for Kindergarten to Grade
12 Wellness Education2 and the Framework for Student Learning: Competencies for Engaged
Thinkers and Ethical Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit.3
The Framework for Kindergarten to Grade 12 Wellness Education (left) allows for a
focus on wellness education that “nurtures the whole child and enhances students'
capacity for achieving their full potential—intellectually, physically, socially, spiritually
and emotionally.”
1 http://www41.statcan.gc.ca/2006/2966/ceb2966_004-eng.htm – “Childhood Obesity: A Troubling Situation”
2 http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/wellness-education.aspx
3 http://education.alberta.ca/department/ipr/curriculum/framework.aspx
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The Framework for Student Learning: Competencies for Engaged Thinkers and Ethical
Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit (right) describes a future in education that
acknowledges the need for competencies, including well-being, to be more central in the
education of Alberta’s young people in the 21st century.
The Framework for Student Learning identifies well-being as a competency that needs to be
infused across all subject areas. This is a key driver for promoting healthy school environments
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and student wellness. The workshop was designed and facilitated by representatives from
Alberta Education and the Minister’s Student Advisory Council (the Council):
Jeff Bath –Curriculum Manager, Wellness Education, Alberta Education
Gail Diachuk – School Health and Wellness Manager, Alberta Education / Alberta Health
and Wellness
Brian Torrance – Ever Active Schools
Elizabeth Coldbeck – Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund
Jodi Harding – Health and Physical Education Council of the Alberta Teachers’
Association
Tyson S. – Member of the Council
Erin A. – Member of the Council
Beth L. – Member of the Council
Joel H. – Member of the Council
Executive Summary It’s not enough for today’s schools only to provide physical education and health classes and
assume that education is meeting the needs of society. Healthy Students /
Healthy Schools focused on three key priorities: physical activity, healthy eating
and positive social environment. Creating healthy school environments and
curriculum that focuses on the attitudes, skills and knowledge for a healthy,
active lifestyle, will support students in making healthy choices. To accomplish
this, health needs to be tied to daily student life, and students need to want it and be involved
and interested in it—they need to develop their own healthy lifestyles.
The interactive Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop allowed students to provide input
on how Alberta Education can promote wellness in schools. Students were encouraged to
respond to four key questions:
1. Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?
2. What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy
behaviours?
3. How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all
students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?
4. Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?
Following the workshop, a theme analysis of the responses revealed that in general, healthy
students feel healthy inside and out, have the confidence to succeed, have the support to make
healthy choices and have the attitude, skills and knowledge to be successful after high school.
Other key findings include the following:
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Lifestyle choices start in the home. Students learn from their parents first; if parents
are overweight and don’t do any physical activity, then their children think this is an
acceptable lifestyle that they should also follow. Today’s parents need to be
committed to their own healthy living and work together with their kids to live healthy
lifestyles.
Once children arrive in the education system, healthy behaviours need to be a focus
of learning from their first day of kindergarten through to the end of their school
years. While healthy habits begin at home, the school’s healthy learning environment
will also influence the development of healthy habits.
Students need to understand what is and what is not “healthy,” but more importantly,
they need to be willing to research what really is best for them and make their own
healthy choices. Teaching topics and content that are “real life” and relevant to
students’ needs is also vital. By combining guidance from parents and teachers with
their own informed decisions, students are more likely to build their own healthy
living habits.
Summary of Responses
1. Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?
In general, students rely on a host of influences to help them make healthy
lifestyle choices. The most common responses to this question include the
following:
Family (particularly parents): In addition to being students’ biggest fans,
family are the people who students spend most of their time with. Family
members, particularly parents, want the best for their children, so they
support and encourage them and lead by setting healthy lifestyle
examples. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o They are positive role models who provide positive reinforcement
o Grocery shopping and cooking together to understand healthy foods and healthy
choices
o Exercising together to create good lifestyle habits
o Grandparents – longevity – good examples of health and still active
o Siblings are role models
o My dad makes sure we only eat whole grains and plans meals around the food
groups. He always cooks so we didn’t eat out when I was young so it isn’t a
habit. He works out 3 times a week. He leads by example
o They are the key to good and bad habits
Self: Only individuals can make decisions for themselves about healthy lifestyle choices,
and only they experience a direct impact from those choices. Examples of student
answers were as follows:
o You see your own results
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o You create your own personal goals and you are the one who gets satisfaction
from meeting them
o Reaching a personal goal makes you want to go farther and help others reach
their goals for health
o Personal gain – you want to encourage others to live healthy
o You have to be responsible for motivating yourself to make good choices
o You benefit from the good choices that you make and you receive the
satisfaction
o You want to avoid making the mistakes others make
o I live healthy for my own sake
Friends: Students spend a lot of time with their friends and often have close, positive
relationships with them. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Good friends provide positive peer pressure, if they are healthy you should be
too
o They are encouraging and help motivate you
o They provide healthy competition
o Friends inspire by example
o Friends peer pressure/competition to keep up in school or sports
o You work together to accomplish goals
o They know how to help get the best out of you (or worst)
o You begin to act like people around you, if they are good people then you will
improve from being around them
Teachers and/or principals: In general, teachers care about the choices
their students are faced with and have the ability to lead by example.
Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Students trust them due to their responsibility and life experience
o They provide empowerment with support
o Good teachers help raise self-esteem and motivate
o Good teachers care
o My teachers have influenced me to leading a better life by encouraging
me to do things I normally wouldn’t
o They bring health into the classroom
o They set examples and lead by them
o Lead by example and should show you the way; and
o They have the accessibility to encourage students to set goals and are available
on a daily basis to help them achieve those goals
Media: It is easy for media to visually demonstrate what a healthy lifestyle (or unhealthy
lifestyle) looks like by portraying the lives of celebrity role models, including professional
athletes and television personalities. Students also noted that it is necessary to be able
to decipher between the positive and negative media around health. Examples of
student answers were as follows:
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o Good media helps you feel accepted and provides good role models
o The negative side of media is that they typically do not portray good healthy role
models
o Can be negative and that promotes you to do more
o Can be positive and influence us to take part
o Powerful women (like Oprah, Michelle Obama and Ellen)
o Health magazines
o Witnessing the results of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles
o Pro athletes are presented as positive healthy role models
o The key is that when students see negative examples they need to understand
how to filter and block those messages
Coaches: Team coaches support students by encouraging healthy lifestyles in a variety
of ways, not just physical. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o They provide encouragement and support
o Encourage healthy lifestyles as a necessity for successfully competing in sports
o To reach best ability, physically and mentally fit, help guide us
o Promotes healthy eating
o Coaches encourage health in many aspects, they hold authority
o They participate and are active
o They make health accessible
Other responses to Question 1 include:
Peers: They often provide encouragement and support and act as role models
themselves
Teammates: They want to see you compete at your best level
Student leadership groups: It’s often their role to act as role models and help others
Other school influences(e.g. breakfast program and health and physical education
classes): They teach you about healthy choices when it comes to diet and exercise
Counsellors at summer camp: They made being healthy fun AND easy!
Younger children: Students feel they need to become a role model for them
Religious figures and leaders (of all denominations): It is their job to promote healthy
living, from a mental perspective
Other external influences: This included health care
professionals, a mixed martial arts instructor, and government
initiatives like Health Canada. Note: No explanation given for
these.
2. What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy behaviours?
A number of main themes emerged from students’ responses to this question. According to
them, the best ways for students to learn to develop lifelong healthy behaviours include the
following:
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Starting at home: Students felt it was important for families, particularly parents or
guardians, to encourage healthy behaviours at home on a regular basis and from the
time children are young. Parents should lead by positive examples and by making
healthy choices for themselves. Doing so sets the tone for students’ lifelong healthy
living at home and beyond. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Need to encourage families to be active – exercise together, even if it’s just a 15
minute walk together it helps build a healthy family both mentally and physically
o At home your parents get the food, it’s their job to buy food that is healthy and
parents should be responsible for developing lifelong healthy living in their
children
o Parents need to focus on providing healthy environments
o What they provide to young children is what children grow up knowing and doing
to others
Home should be providing healthy meals and no junk food
o Parents/any adults – could and make healthy choices for you. If you’re young
then you don’t have to change healthy habits. You learn from positive and
negative choices your parents make
School influence: Second to their homes, students spend most of their time at school.
Students felt that their schools play a large role in teaching how to develop lifelong
healthy behaviours. They can do so by providing more healthy food choices, ensuring all
classes (not just health and physical education) spend more time integrating healthy
lessons, increasing physical activity and providing more access to health-based
resources. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Healthy food choices:
Healthy choices in schools should be less expensive than the heavy
foods like fries and pasta to encourage students to choose the healthy
options
Breakfast program where the school would provide students with free
healthy breakfasts (side benefit, this would encourage students to arrive
on time for classes)
My school got rid of junk food at the machines and replaced with healthy
food. This forces students to quit eating junk during the day. This has led
to calmer classes
o Class focus:
Health classes where they could learn the
negative effects of junk food
Food programs (nutrition, healthy cooking, etc.)
Mandatory health classes (that involve more than
just fitness but include healthy eating, mental
health, etc)
Having classes mix in random five minute health
breaks
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Offer non-standard classes in schools like yoga, martial arts, Pilates,
cooking, etc
o Increased activity:
Making kids/students more active and hands on within the school (gym,
projects, etc.)
Opportunities to be active
Give students a chance to ‘speak out’
Active living focus in school where students have time in the day to be
active and are encouraged to be
Encourage daily physical activity
Physical environment within the school that doesn’t just focus on sports or
PE but provides different types of activities
o More access to resources:
Promote healthy behaviours by bringing in an expert to teach students
(and teachers) how to develop lifelong healthy behaviours
Need access to equipment
Better facilities
Access to more resources like calorie counters and pedometers
Availability of resources to influence what we eat and how to be healthy
Access to resources – trainers, health providers (mental and physical),
chefs, etc
Developing routines/habits: Students indicated another way to learn, and maintain,
healthy lifelong behaviours is to start making continual, healthy choices at a young age
so it becomes routine. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Do activities in groups and encourage individually to develop routines as a way to
feel better
o Start young – habits are easy to form at a young age and hard to break once
they become habits
o Start learning about healthy choices at a younger age to encourage long-term
healthy habits
o At school, Make it a habit and develop a support system to encourage that habit
o Teaching students at a younger age about healthy behaviours
Lunch programs (healthy snacks, healthy foods,
etc)
Positive role models/reinforcement: Students also indicated
that learning healthy lifelong behaviours is easier when they are
receiving support from positive role models, such as teachers or
other mentors, as well receiving as positive reinforcement from
everyone else. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Role models and positive encouragement to be healthy
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Teachers, friends, coaches, etc. showing positive healthy behaviours
o Having people available who can inspire and help you make changes and
answer questions
o Increase social action and social interaction (parent/mentor to child, students to
students)
o Immerse yourself around healthy people who have healthy relationships
o Active teachers make active students
o Positive reinforcement, don’t force people to be healthy, if you force them then
they will not practice it, it must be a choice and one that is positively reinforce
o Having the support and encouragement needed to make an individual try to go
out of their comfort zone and give it a try, trying to be healthy and physically
active
o Healthy environments with a “you can do it!” praise
o Happy people make you happy and positive friends make you have a positive
attitude
Having fun: Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be a chore or a burden. Students
said that the more fun that can be integrated into healthy activities, the easier those
activities seem. Examples of student answers were as follows:
o Make hands on, fun activities and make the health education memorable
o Fun means there’s less pressure to perform and students enjoy it better which
means they want to be there
o Run creative and fun school clubs
o Have fun! –if students like it and have fun they will do it again
o Making kids/students more active and hands on within the school (gym, projects,
etc.)
o Fun focus instead of competition focus in PE classes
3. How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all
students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?
A number of main themes emerged from the collection of student responses to this question, all
of which tied into students’ desire for greater diversity and more available options within their
health and physical education programs. The main themes, accompanied by examples of
students’ comments, were as follows:
Personalization/customization:
o Individualized planning both physical activity and nutritional. Ex: half marathon
training and nutritional plan
o Individualize ‘healthy’ – develop a frame for ‘healthy’
o Make it so programs can be personalized to each student but still make it so they
can work as a class
o create individual personal health plans that help students learn what to eat and
what type of activities they like to participate in
o Timetabled for individual preferences
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o PE needs to meet the individual needs of students
o If there were choices to different types of physical activity that allowed students
to get involved in activities they liked it would encourage them to do more
Less focus on standardized sports:
o All schools should have mandatory physical ‘activity’ programs but with options.
Not all students want sports, need to talk to students who don’t like sports and
ask what they would prefer. Ideas like yoga, aerobics, rock climbing, cycling,
hiking, etc. but focus should be mandatory physical activity of some type.
o Health competitions that encompass all aspects of health, not just sports
o More self-directed PE where students choose: possibly one teacher focuses on
sports, one does weight training, another focuses on pool, one does hikes,
maybe students pay extra and do skating and pool classes instead of grass
hockey or basketball, etc. allow students to choose what they prefer
o Give students options ‘sports gym classes’ or ‘active gym classes’
o Provide a variety of options in games, sports and activities rather than setting up
for one or two sports only
o Combine gym and health together and make it mandatory but provide options for
kids who don’t want to do sports
Introduce new/unique activities:
o Have an option class with things like zen, yoga, healthy choices, meal plans, how
food impacts our environment, go camping and learn not to be watching TV all
day, every day, focus on getting out of the house and exercising
o Consider alternative ways of earning gym credits
o More variety in gym class… every year we do volleyball, basketball, badminton,
running. Add variety!! Like mountain biking, hiking, climbing, etc. – make it fu
o Teach things that can easily be integrated into everyday life like walking, bike
riding, healthy cooking, etc. focus on healthy diet and healthy activity
o Do what the kids want to do. Try new things! (ex. dance/zumba, etc)
o Field trips and fun activities that are more hands on and different
Greater focus on nutrition and diet:
o Teaching how to eat, prepare and shop for healthy foods
o Schools should provide before school, morning meals at the school that:
have a ticket system where teachers and students are seated randomly
so that cliques don’t form and students and teachers eat together
have students help prepare the food to allow them to learn how to cook
healthy food choices
are provided to students and teachers free
use healthy food choices
o Treat healthy foods as ‘fun’ options. Don’t make them look scary or like a choice
o A healthy cafeteria and vending machines
o Demonstrated examples of healthy choices (ex. cooking classes)
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o Provide students with healthy nutrition plans created by a nutrition specialist
specifically for each student. The nutritionist would also explain the impacts of
bad choices
o Pair older students with younger ones for cooking classes where they have to
create healthy meals. This will allow older students to teach the younger ones
and feel more accomplishment
o A breakfast program
o Make healthy choices cheaper and easier access
Greater focus on fun:
o Having fun needs to be a bigger focus
o Make activities fun with less pressure to perform
o Implement year-round sports which would focus on less competition and more
fun and stress management
o There should be more focus on fun in classes—, it keeps
students engaged and also lowers stress levels
o Include everyone and make it fun
o Making healthy lifestyles sound ‘fun’ and then promote it within
the school
o Make games more fun (like hide and see outside and tag, etc)
o Emphasise and promote healthy lifestyles within the school and
make it sound fun
o Make mandatory classes seem less ‘mandatory’
Greater focus on mental health:
o Promote physical and mental health
o Explore emotional aspect of health education
o Encourage/teach students and staff to talk to a school counsellor about
personal/mental issues to ensure they aren’t keeping things bottled up. Key is
that this MUST be confidential or it will fail
o Promote awareness by demonstrating real life consequences of what happens
when people do not pursue a healthy lifestyle. Bring in people or watch videos to
show the effects of different physical and mental health issues and how choices
when young impact the future. Bring in celebrity speakers
o Stress should be talked about more
o More programs should focus on stress management
4. Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?
Student responses illustrated a number of benefits to integrating nurses into schools, but the
question also led to some debate around whether a nurse is required and, if so, whether full
time or part time. Examples of thoughts provided by students on having a nurse in the school
included:
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Yes—full time:
o Students must be aware of their health internally and may not have accessibility
to confidential support or feel comfortable discussing
it. A nurse could provide that confidential assistance
that some families are missing
o Nurses should definitely be in schools so that they
would have a person to go to for help with questions
they can’t ask anyone else. But they should not be
brought in to replace counsellors. They should be a
team working together to promote healthy living (mentally, physically and diet)
o They could work with the cafeteria meal service to make sure the cafeteria food
is healthy
o Yes, I like the idea of them being available for not only injuries but also to answer
health and wellness questions that students have. For some students it would be
nice to have the option for them to ask questions than to guess and perhaps be
unsafe. A nurse can give them accurate advice and information
Yes—part time:
o It would be beneficial a couple times a week and during those days have them
teach health classes
They could work with the counsellor to help students be healthy
o Yes nurses should be involved in schooling part-time
There are issues that youth may not want to talk about with others
Sometimes support at home does not offer much advice on health.
Parents are at work all day and sometimes they just can’t get the time to
help their child who is sick at school. Some parents don’t have the ability
to leave work to take their child to the doctor or bring them home
Also, students need to be aware of, and responsible for their own health.
A nurse can help them understand what that means
o I think they only need to be there if we have to get shots or for delivering ‘health’
presentations. They should also be there a few days a month to answer student
questions
o Yes! Integrate nurses (potentially part-time) into classes for educating students
like CALM
o A few nurses could check in on students and make sure they are doing ok,
provide health presentations, give shots, give medications, and so forth
o This will promote access to health services for both teachers and students
o It would be beneficial a couple times a week and during those days have them
teach health classes
They could work with the counsellor to help students be healthy
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Most of the arguments against having a nurse in schools were based on students’ lack of a
clear understanding of what a nurse would provide. Examples of student comments were as
follows:
No
o I think it isn’t necessary. If the injury is super bad you can just go to the hospital
so the nurse would just be sitting around
o Not sure what they would be used for
o Building trust takes time and they are limited in how many students they can
reach on a daily basis
o Not necessarily a nurse, it should be someone who students can relate to if they
are undergoing any personal issues that they can get advice from. For example,
not many students will go to the school nurse to get a prescription, that would be
a family doctor
o Counsellors could be trained in first aid to do a nurse’s job
o Not many serious injuries at my school
o I don’t think we should because at our school we have a sports medic who is
basically a nurse and helpful in other situations as well
o We have numerous resources elsewhere such as counsellors and physical
teachers so I don’t think it’s necessary. Some schools already offer health as part
of gym so we learn about stuff like having healthy lifestyles
o The focus of health education at school should be more about prevention rather
than treatment
o It would depend on whether any teachers or the counsellor are certified or not, if
some teachers were properly certified it would not be required
Because the answers to this question indicated that students weren’t clear about what a nurse
would do for them, if nurses were brought into schools, their role and job duties would have to
be clearly defined. A key consideration was that kids need support 24/7 as their needs don’t
stop at the end of the school day.
General considerations for having nurses in schools:
o A nurse would need to be approachable, friendly and build rapport with all
students
o Their role would need to be to talk to all students who are having health issues
(physical and mental) and help them find solutions
o They need to be trained in physical and mental health so that they can help with
both physical and mental health issues
o Nurses and counsellors are NOT the same or interchangeable. Schools need
both and they both must be CONFIDENTIAL
o Nurses would need to have experience with youth, how to build relationships
between them and how to help them with their specific health concerns
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o A nurse needs to be a private and confidential resource that is able to work with
each student to develop personal health plans and help students achieve those
plans
o Nurses need to be entrenched in the student community
For information on how this summary was derived, please see Appendix 1 – Process.
Implementation
The student voice gathered in the Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop will be used to
inform the development of wellness-related programs of study and models for delivering
wellness in high schools using a comprehensive school health approach that supports:
Cross-curricular links to wellness
Changes to social and physical environments to support students in making healthy
choices related to healthy eating, physical activity and positive social environments
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Appendix 1 – Process
Workshop Preparation and Overview In preparation for the workshop, tables were covered in brown paper to allow students to write
down their thoughts and ideas. Post-it notes, flipcharts, pens, pencils and felts were also
provided to allow them to capture key concepts and ideas to present to the rest of the room at
the end of each activity. In addition to being encouraged to doodle
or write to inspire creativity, each table was provided with teaching
tools that reflect stress management, healthy eating and active
living [copies of My Amazing Little Cookbook and Frisbees with
information on appropriate serving sizes from Alberta Health and
Wellness (www.healthyalberta.com), as well as a set of health-
focused stress balls from Ever Active Schools
(www.everactive.org)].
The same workshop ran twice, with different groups of students.
There were eight tables, and each table had one of four questions to answer:
1) Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?
2) What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy behaviors?
3) How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all
students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?
4) Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?
Each question was answered twice per workshop, and four separate activities allowed each
student to provide input for each of the four questions. In total, approximately 145 students
participated in the Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshops. This workshop had one
facilitator at each table to ensure each student was encouraged to provide feedback for each
activity. The facilitators were prepared in advance and understood that their role as a neutral
facilitator was to keep their table on track and work with all participants to ensure everyone at
the table was heard and their voices honoured.
This workshop looked at two primary elements:
Curriculum: To help understand what wellness-related programs of studies need to be
incorporated into schools
Non-curriculum: To look at using a comprehensive school health approach to promote
student wellness
These two elements were combined to ensure that what is done in the curriculum is also done
in the school environment. The workshops were designed to gather information from students
on their perspectives, ideas, wants and needs for the inclusion of wellness in schools. The intent
was to focus on positive, healthy behaviours and to reduce the impact of unhealthy behaviours
on students now and in the future.
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The development of this workshop and its inclusion in Speak Out has been made possible
through the commitment and resources of a consortium of organizations, including Alberta
Education, Alberta Health and Wellness and representatives from Ever Active Schools, the
Healthy and Physical Education Council (HPEC) and the Alberta Healthy School Community
Wellness Fund.
Activities for the Workshop Jeff started the workshops by introducing the facilitators and briefly describing the workshop
process. He noted that wellness is important for both health and learning outcomes: while it is
important to battle the obesity epidemic happening across North America, it is equally important
to improve social problems, such as bullying and depression, which are also factors in student
health.
Jeff indicated that each group would have approximately 12 minutes to answer questions at
different tables and that they would rotate through the workshop. There would be an active
transition between questions, and by the end of the workshop, each student would answer all
four questions. Once all questions were answered a presenter from each table would present
the group’s conclusions.
Jeff then handed the floor to Erin, who presented a PowerPoint presentation about a student-
run awareness campaign called Celebrate Yourself. Erin and four friends started the campaign
to improve their school environment. Its motto was “our first and last love is … self-love,” and it
contained three components: bullying awareness, media influence and self-esteem. She
explained the core values of the campaign as well as how and why it affects students. Some of
the examples she provided were:
Bullies: Students who are bullied may become depressed, introverted, angry or quiet, or
they may hide all these emotions. The emotional impact of bullying can have a major
effect on a student’s academic progress in school and in life.
Media impacts: In North American culture, the pressure to be flawless can wear down a
teenager. In fact, it wears down many on a regular basis.
Self-esteem: The way people perceive themselves can have a major impact on how
they choose to live their lives. The teenage years are crucial for building positive and
healthy self-esteem.
Erin explained that students met with classes to conduct research, made the slide show
presentation, created the music and developed every aspect of the campaign. They then
presented it at the local Boston Pizza to explain to the community the impacts that these issues
have on students. She talked about how she was affected by these three factors through her life
and encouraged the Speak Out students to create similar programs in their
areas.
Following Erin’s presentation, Libby introduced the video Stories of Success:
Body, Mind and Spirit and some of the great success stories that have been
Fourth Annual Speak Out Conference | April 13-15, 2012
What We Heard
Page | 17
achieved. The video was created by the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund and
was intended to show examples of how schools have used the Wellness Fund contributions to
implement creative health solutions for their students.
Following the video, the activities began. The process at each table included:
Reading the question aloud to the group and taking two minutes to think or brainstorm,
as well as reading the ideas of other members and writing their ideas on the paper
tablecloth or sticky notes
Discussing the question as a group for six or seven minutes, with the facilitator ensuring
that everyone had a chance to be heard
Using the remaining three or four minutes to give the table’s recorder time to capture the
main ideas from the conversation on the flipchart paper
Ending each activity with a fun, active transition led by Jeff, Erin or Tyson
o Jeff did the first transition, in which students had to high-five at least six people
they didn’t know on their way to their new table.
o Erin transitioned the group using “the ultimate rock, paper, scissors challenge.”
Each person in the room did one rock, paper, scissors battle, and the loser stood
behind the winner. By the end, there were two long lines of more than 30 people
each, and the leader of each line battled for the “rock, paper, scissors” bragging
rights.
o For the final transition, Tyson initiated “the hokey-pokey.” He started out singing
alone, and by the end of the song, almost the entire room was singing and
participating.
The flipcharts and tablecloths at each table stayed in place for each transition to allow the
second group to build on the ideas of the first, and so on, until all four teams had answered the
question at that table. While each team built on the answers from the previous team(s), all paper
that had been written on during the first workshop was removed before the second workshop to
ensure the participants were generating their own information.
Once all questions had been answered, a presenter from each group summarized the results
from all four teams who worked at that table. The results were clearly presented, and there were
several great ideas. As expected, although the information from the first morning workshop was
removed, the second workshop results were very similar in theme and content, showing that
students have similar wants and needs.
Jeff closed the workshop by saying, “It’s not just what you learn or what you put on the paper;
it’s also what you’re going to do with the ideas you heard today. What will you do after this
workshop to help improve your schools and your communities?” Jeff challenged them to take
what they learned and improve the lives of those around them.