SHAPING the FUTURE Inspiring children and youth to be healthy learners
January 23-25
2014
Thank you to the Government of Alberta for their ongoing support of healthy school communities in Alberta.
Thank you to our generous sponsors:
And key contributors:
Table of Contents
SHAPING the FUTURE
Shaping the Future 2014 Program Message from the Associate Minister of Wellness
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Message from the Minister of Education
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Message from the Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation
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Message from Ever Active Schools
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Keynote Speakers
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Program at a Glance
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Friday Events
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Saturday Events
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Art Poster Project
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HPEC Promoting Wellness Award
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Session Descriptions
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Concurrent Session 1
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Concurrent Session 2
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Concurrent Session 3
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Concurrent Session 4
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Concurrent Session 5
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Concurrent Session 6
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Facility Map
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Exhibitors
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Notes
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Message from the Associate Minister of Wellness
SHAPING the FUTURE
Alberta Health is very proud to support Ever Active Schools, which encourages healthy living in Alberta. Wellness involves everyone, and we are very proud of the partnerships that have developed to foster the growth of healthy children in environments that support active school communities. This year’s conference theme is “Inspiring Children and Youth to be Healthy Learners.” I am confident this theme will promote meaningful conversations and ideas to help Alberta students live, learn and play in healthy, active school environments. From my attendance at previous conferences, I have learned that each one of you continues to inspire our children and youth on a daily basis. You set positive examples, you teach, you lead healthy, active lifestyles, and you inspire leadership. Enjoy your time at the conference, network with delegates, explore your role in inspiring and engaging healthy learners, and feel connected to one another by knowing that you are all striving towards the same goal of building and supporting a healthier Alberta. Best Wishes,
Honourable Dave Rodney
Message from the Minister of Education
SHAPING the FUTURE
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the fifth annual Shaping the Future, Engaging Healthy School Communities conference. This is a great opportunity to share best practices, celebrate excellence and make connections. I commend Ever Active Schools for hosting this event and for your ongoing work in support of healthy, active schools and healthy, active children and youth. You can be proud of your role in ensuring that young people in school communities across Alberta have the support, resources and encouragement they need to make wellness an integral part of their daily lives. We know that when kids are healthy, they have more capacity to learn and grow into engaged, ethical and entrepreneurial citizens. Supporting the well-being and success of our students is central to our vision for Inspiring Education and our Building Alberta Plan. Thank you for your commitment to building a brighter, healthier future for our young people and our province. I wish you all a successful and productive conference! Sincerely,
Honourable Jeff Johnson 4
Message from the Minister of Tourism, Parks and Recreation
SHAPING the FUTURE
On behalf of the Government of Alberta, I am pleased to welcome you to Ever Active School’s fifth annual Shaping the Future Conference. The 2014 Shaping the Future theme is Inspiring children and you th to be healthy learners and I couldn’t think of a more appropriate setting to help practitioners inspire children and youth than the beautiful Kananaskis Country! Providing children and youth with the right environment to be healthy learners is critical to helping them become contributing members of society. This includes ensuring that our youth receive enough physical activity to keep them engaged, interested and attentive throughout the day. This will help build an Active Alberta with engaged citizens in active communities. The work that each of you in attendance does in creating this environment is a critical piece of the puzzle when it comes to the success of our youth. Your dedication to creating healthy learning opportunities is appreciated and helps to build a more active Alberta. Special thanks not only to the organizers who have made this event possible, but also to the each of the delegates who have taken the time to further their knowled ge around the importance of activity in the learning environment. Best wishes for an inspiring conference,
Honourable Dr. Richard Starke
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Message from Ever Active Schools
SHAPING the FUTURE
Welcome to the fifth annual Shaping the Future conference! The 2014 conference brings together leaders from the health, education, active living and recreation sectors who share a vested interest in supporting healthy school communities. The conference aspires to educate and build key partnerships to address wellness in school communities. The theme is “inspiring children and youth to be healthy learners.� Shaping the Future provides a platform for leaders to come together and discuss The Ever Active Schools team (L-R, back row to front): Jackie Crooks, Shannon various aspects of comprehensive school Horricks, Tanja Stalter, Rhonda Schilberg, Kim Hordal, Hayley Degaust, Joyce health. EAS strives to connect all delegates Sunada, Brian Torrance, Michelle Mann, Megan Hunka, Katelynn Theal by disseminating information in a variety of interactive formats: pre-conference workshops, keynote speakers, concurrent sessions, panel discussions, post-secondary research posters and networking sessions with exhibitors and sponsors. Shaping the Future always includes daily wellness and active breaks which allow delegates to engage in activities such as snowshoeing, ice hockey, walking and jogging and crosscountry skiing in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Please take the time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings! We commend you on the great work that you do to inspire children and youth and are thrilled that you are joining us in Kananaskis! Sincerely, Brian Torrance Director, Ever Active Schools
Jackie Crooks Chair, Shaping the Future
@EverActiveAB #stf2014
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Keynote Speakers Riley Christensen Student
Riley is 12 years old and in grade seven. He shares his story of embracing leadership opportunities, managing friendships, taking part in daily physical activity and balancing his world while living with the challenges of autism. Riley will share how his brain works in hopes he can help others to better understand children who cannot explain this for themselves.
Brenda Herchmer
Owner, Grassroots Enterprises and campusforcommunities.com Brenda’s primary work has involved community building and comprehensive community transformation. She recently served as the Director of Alberta Recreation and Parks Association’s ACE Communities initiative and taught at Niagara College, Brock University and the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls Club. She is a blogger and author of three books. She is committed to and believes in the importance and strength of our communities.
Dr. Phil McRae
Execu tive Staff Officer, Alberta Teachers’ Assocation Phil is an Adjunct Professor within the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, where he earned his Ph.D. He was the Director of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement at the University of Alberta from 2005-09 and taught several graduate courses in the Master of Education in Educational Studies program. Phil has worked in many educational contexts while living and teaching in the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Spain, the Lethbridge Public School District and on the Blood (Kainai) Reservation in Alberta.
Dr. Doug Gleddie
Assistant Professor, University of Alberta Doug is a husband and a father who also happens to be an Assistant Professor of Elementary Physical Education at the University of Alberta. In a career filled with change, the only true constants have been physical activity and education, working with kids and how joy fills the spaces in between. Although it took him awhile to fully embrace this epiphanal thought, the journey itself has enabled Doug to work with a wide variety of people and organizations across Canada and around the world. He takes care of his own wellness by being active with his family, improving his guitar picking and seeking new challenges each day.
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Program at a Glance Friday, January 24 6:30 - 7:15 am 7:15 - 8:00 am 8:00 - 8:15 am 8:20 - 8:40 am 8:40 - 8:55 am 8:55 - 9:25 am 9:30 - 9:45 am 9:45 - 10:50 am
AMA Youth Run Club Run or Morning UWalk (Hotel Lobby) OR Get Groovin’ (Rockies Room) Registration and Breakfast - Conference Foyer Emcee, Welcome - Olympic Ballroom Honourable Dave Rodney, Associate Minister of Wellness - Olympic Ballroom Keynote Address: Riley Christensen - Olympic Ballroom Keynote Address: Brenda Herchmer - Olympic Ballroom Wellness Break, visit Exhibitor Tables Concurrent Session 1: A Conversation on Active at School, Canadian Tire (Gold) Gay Straight Alliance – Creating Safe and Supportive Environments for LGBTQ Students and Staff, Nick Moore (Silver) Healthy Schools – Healthy Future: Comprehensive Schools Health Research: from Survey to SWAT Attacks, Kate Storey and Bringing SWAT to your School, Leanne Schram-White (Bronze) Walk With Us, UWALK and Walk to School Safely, Monique Webb (Sinclair/Palliser) Accelerating Our Impact to Create Healthy School Communities, Lisa McLaughlin (Dawson/ Stewart) Sport Academies and Student Wellness, Danny Balderson (Champion)
10:50 - 11:05 am 11:05 - 12:10 pm
Wellness Break, visit Exhibitor Tables (healthy snacks provided) Concurrent Session 2: Green Schools, Gareth Thomson and Shaping Schoolyards for Healthy Learners, Michelle Drissler and Greening CBE Schools: Links to Comprehensive School Health, Roy Strum (Gold) Facilitating Change in Comprehensive School Health, Marg Schwartz (Silver) Making Healthy Eating Education Fun: Introducing the Cooking Club Manual and the Sugar Shocker, Vanessa Baker (Bronze) Foundation for Change: Healthy School Planner, Gail Diachuk (Sinclair/Palliser) Canadian Academy for Healthier Generations, Cynthia Watson and Using Accelerometers to Measure Physical Activity Behaviours in Elementary School Children, Dwayne Sheehan (Dawson/Stewart) Be Kind, Alexandra Zannis and Youth Directed Mentorship, Mary Appleton Dias (Champion)
12:10 - 1:00 pm 1:00 - 2:05 pm
Lunch, visit Exhibitor Tables - Conference Foyer Concurrent Session 3: Teaching Youth with Depression - A Whole School Approach, Mary Dawn Eggleton (Gold) An Inquiry Based Approach to Developing Physical Literacy in Schools, Deirdre Bailey and A PE Program that gets Adolescents to Take Responsibility for their Fitness, Cari Din (Silver) Engaging Students in a Healthy School Community: A Panel Discussion, Matt Mitschke (Bronze) The Importance of a District/Division Perspective, Libby Coldbeck (Sinclair/Palliser) Strengths-based Solutions for Lasting Success/Leading Your Life: Accessing the Strengths of a Community for Individual Success, Terri Dauter (Dawson/Stewart) REAL Kids Alberta, Erin Faught and Got Data? Get Results, Erin Wright (Champion)
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Program at a Glance 2:10 - 3:15 pm
Concurrent Session 4: A Cross-curricular Approach to High School Wellness, Laureen Lailey and Classroom Perspective to Education-embedded Wellness into the High School, Cheryl Shinkaruk and Adolescent Mental Health, Kathy Penner (Gold) AHKC’s Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth, Jennifer Cowie Bonne (Silver) Healthy Schools: A Conversation Designed for You, Lorna Muise and Wild Rose School Division: Lessons Learned, Stanton Swain (Bronze) Building Positive Mental Health through a Whole School Approach, Matt Mitschke and Positive Mental Health in Schools, Kim Hordal (Sinclair/Palliser) Media Creation as an Engagement Strategy in Aboriginal Schools, Jason Gondziola (Dawson/Stewart) Outdoor Education: Pathways to Lifelong Activity and Healthy Schools, Albert Sole and Injury Prevention in Children and Adolescents, Rebecca Carnduff (Champion)
3:15 - 5:15 pm 5:30 - 6:30 pm 6:30 - 8:15 pm 8:15 - 1:00 am
Wellness Break - Get outside and get active! Exhibitor Tables, cash bar, networking - Conference Foyer Dinner: HPEC Promoting School Wellness Award Ceremony - Olympic Ballroom Social/Dance - Olympic Ballroom
Saturday, January 25 6:30 - 7:15 am 7:15 - 8:15 am 8:15 - 9:20 am
9:20 - 9:35 am 9:35 - 10:25 am 10:25 - 10:50 am 10:50 - 11:55 am
AMA Youth Run Club Run or Morning UWalk (Hotel Lobby) OR Yoga (Rockies Room) Breakfast - Conference Foyer, Poster Presentations Concurrent Session 5: Living, Laughing, Loving, Learning and Lifestyle: Maintaining Personal Balance, Bill Gordon (Gold) Attending to Students’ Emotional Well-being to Enhance Student Success, John Burger (Silver) The Role of the Administrator in Changing School Culture within a CSH Framework, Erica Roberts (Bronze) Student Leadership and Health Promotion, Ashley Fox (Sinclair/Palliser) Youth Engagement Toolkit: Bringing the Youth Voice to CSH, Katherine Kelly and Healthy Living: Through Their Eyes, Kirsten Leslie (Dawson/Stewart) Collaborating for Success: Implementing the Active Alberta Policy, Damien Traverse (Champion) Wellness Break, Poster Presentations - Conference Foyer Keynote Address: Dr. Philip McRae - Olympic Ballroom Poster Presentations - Conference Foyer Concurrent Session 6: Healthy Schools Speed Dating, Felicia Ochs (Gold) Brain Builders and Juggling with Action Schools! BC, Allyson Epp (Silver) Healthy Schools Start on the Inside: Developing an Employee Wellness Program, Megan Hunter (Bronze) Promoting Healthy Relationships: Five Essential Strategies, Kim Campbell and Supporting Grade 7-12 Students in Developing Healthy Relationships, Libby Coldbeck (Sinclair/Palliser) Farm to Cafeteria Canada: Bringing Local, Fresh Food into out Hospitals, Schools and Universities, Cathy White (Dawson/Stewart) Many Hands Make Light Work...But What is the Secret to Engaging Others? Leslie Prenoslo (Champion)
11:55 - 1:10 pm
Lunch, Keynote Address: Dr. Doug Gleddie Conference wrap-up, poster and draw prizes - Olympic Ballroom
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An Ever Active Schools Initiative
Grade 4 - 9 students across Alberta created posters that represent their understanding of Comprehensive School Health. Students connected to the importance of being active, eating healthy and building healthy relationships. “It was a great conceptual starting point for students — having to think about what makes them healthy and happy as individuals and create a visual to represent this was a good critical challenge,” says Mary Ann Dobson from Highlands School, EPSB. “When students are asked to communicate their story visually, they surprise and enlighten us with their depth of understanding. My students embraced the project and I am very proud of their work.”
} Olivia Woodley
Highlands School Grade 7
Tito Crane Chief Cardston Elementary School Grade 5
}
Visit www.everactive.org to see the students’ artwork and teachers’ lesson plans. We’ll also be showcasing the art in the foyer and on the tables here at Shaping the Future. 10
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HPEC Promoting Wellness Award
This year the Alberta Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) and Ever Active Schools (EAS) are honouring two HPEC members who have shown exemplary efforts in promoting and modelling of Comprehensive School Health priorities - active living, healthy eating and creating positive social environments.
2014 Award Recipients Marion McIlwraith
Del Lomsnes
M.E. LaZerte High School
Ecole Oriole Park Elementary School
“Marion has been instrumental in providing support and leadership as a health champion and Assistant Principal. She leads the HEALTHY ME team at M.E. LaZerte and continuously goes the extra mile to promote, support and encourage all staff and students to be as healthy as possible.”
“Del is our physical education specialist. He serves our school as well as our district in this regard. Del is dedicated to evidence-based, proven instruction and responsive teaching. Both inside and outside of the school, his advice is sought after for changing the way we encourage students to participate.”
- Carrie Rae, Health Promotion Coordinator
- Kim Walker, Ecole Oriole Park Elementary Vice Principal
Marion and Del will be honoured before colleagues and peers on Friday, January 24th at the Shaping the Future conference, prior to the formal dinner. Please congratulate them on their achievement!
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Session Descriptions
Friday, January 24 Concurrent Session 1
A Conversation on “Active at School” - Canadian Tire, Gold Learn about Canadian Tire’s uprecedented investment into increasing physical activity in schools. The facts are clear. Quality physical activity in children and youth does more than improve health and well-being. It helps build confidence, leadership, productivity and creativity. Research and science also shows that physical activity in school improves a student’s concentration, attention span and mood ensuring they are more prepared to learn. Learn more about the importance of getting Canadian kids active at school.
Creating Safe and Supportive Environments for LGBTQ Students and Staff - Nick Moore and Maxx Lapthorne, Silver A recent Egale Canada survey suggests that an overwhelming majority of Canadian students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) feel unsafe at school and most do not feel comfortable talking to the staff at their school. Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA’s) have been identified as a critical component in creating safe, caring, supportive and inclusive schools for LGBTQ students and staff and their allies. We will explore what GSA’s are, the value they add to school communities, as well as the shapes and forms they may take. This interactive workshop will build awareness of LGBTQ issues in schools and allow for the sharing of strategies, resources, supports, and community connections central to creating, supporting and sustaining of GSA’s. I will share my knowledge, experience with the hope of enhancing the comfort, skills and capacity of the caring and compassionate educators who aspire to support and provide safe spaces for their LGBTQ students and staff.
Healthy Schools – Healthy Future: Comprehensive Schools Health Research: from Survey to SWAT Attacks - Kate Storey, Jill Osler and Lillian Rueck, Bronze Have you ever wondered how you can use comprehensive school health research to create a healthy active environment in your school community? This presentation shares the research tools used by Healthy Schools Healthy Future, which guides the adaptive practice in 17 participating schools following the JCSH comprehensive school health framework. In this session, participants will learn about key research findings and strategies used to address the needs of a developing healthy school community. Participants will be led through an active discussion process to add to their repertoire of knowledge and skills. Participants will brainstorm ideas/strategies in regards to research findings that can be used in their own school planning. Walk with Us! - UWalk, Sinclair/Palliser UWALK is a province wide initiative that aims to increase the physical activity of Albertans. Our free and interactive website is a resource to help keep people motivated and on track to better health. Developed by the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta and funded by the Government of Alberta, UWALK offers tools to support physical activity monitoring. Through our website people can track their steps, activity, flights, and participate in challenges with family, friends and co-workers. These challenges can be utilized in school communities, organizations, community groups and by individuals. In addition, promotional resources are also available and free to use to help make the implementation of UWALK as effortless as possible. Please join us to learn how UWALK is already being used in school communities and can be integrated as a resource and a tool in your school community soon.
Bringing SWAT to your School - Leanne Schram-White, Bronze
Walk to School Safely - Monique Webb, Sinclair/Palliser
Students will bring forward a presentation, an activity, and a brain break for participants. Also, students will deliver an overview of the activities, roles and benefits of being a SWAT member.
Walk to School Safely is an initiative that has inspired me to start a similar project with my Grade 1 class. Many students no longer walk to school because it is too far and unsafe. There are not enough safe pedestrians paths to schools in
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Session Descriptions many communities, especially smaller towns and communities that often have a lower tax base and more highways in proximity. As a result fewer parents are willing to let their children walk to school. Walking to school is an excellent habit building activity that has many benefits. My class has surveyed and documented the local area near our school and created various presentations on the unsafe areas. We have been involved in the local election process to present these ideas to local candidates. We have been invited to speak with the Town Council of Morinville, the Traffic Safety Council of Morinville and one councilor would like to share ideas at National and International planning councils he attends. Our hope is to increase awareness of some obstacles to daily health, wellness and physical activity. Accelerating Our Impact to Create Healthy School Communities - Lisa McLaughlin, Dawson/Stewart Creating a health promoting school is a big job. Creating a health promoting community is an even bigger job. A community is a complex place with many organizations, services, programs, relationships, and priorities. In order to effectively tackle some of today’s big health challenges, such as unhealthy weights, chronic disease, food insecurity, and poverty, actors must be willing to work together in new ways. Come and hear how the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, through its Communities ChooseWell and PLAY (Physical Literacy and You) initiatives, is spearheading a provincial collective impact initiative to create healthy, playful people and communities. Learn about different types of collaboration and the collective impact approach as well as available resources. Consider how your school community and your broader community “system” influence each other and whether using a collective impact approach might be an appropriate strategy to advance your healthy school community goals. Sport Academies and Student Wellness - Danny Balderson, Champion The number of Sport Academies in Alberta schools have grown signigicantly over the past ten years. This presentation will highlight this growing phenonemon and discuss the potential effects on Comprehensive School Health. Results from a study desribing the Academy landscape in
our Province will contribute to the presentation, examining such issues as teacher preparation, sport specialization, and the use of Physical Education credit for Academy participation.
Concurrent Session 2 Green Schools Alberta: Healthy Students, Healthy Environment - Gareth Thomson, Gold Green Schools Alberta promotes environmental education in schools, helping teachers and students develop a culture of environmental stewardship. Environmental education contributes to a healthy school in several ways: it helps students get outdoors, which contributes to their wellness; it empowers students to create healthy environments in their school; and it gives students hope as they ‘shape the future’ and carry out environmental stewardship projects, many of which contribute directly to environmental quality, assuring ready access to fresh air, clean water, etc. In this session you’ll learn about Green Schools Alberta and how we weave together teacher professional learning, student inquiry, school transformation theory, new interdisciplinary curriculum integration, and community support for schools; and explore the connections between Green Schools and your own work. Shaping Schoolyards for Healthy Learners - Michelle Drissler, Gold Research indicates that interactions with nature can help promote holistic well-being in children via development of motor skills, encouragement of creative play and through its calming effect. Schoolyard gardens can be wonderful spaces that introduce children to nature in a meaningful way, provide material for hands-on curriculum lessons and promote student well-being and school pride. This session will introduce some of the design elements used in schoolyard gardens and their potential value for physical activity, mental health and teaching. The presentation is designed to help listeners critically consider the value of different schoolyard garden elements and invite them to reflect on how they can use elements in multifaceted ways.
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Session Descriptions Greening CBE Schools: Links to Comprehensive School Health - Roy Strum, Gold This session will focus on sharing success stories focusing on sharing: • the development of naturalization spaces, food gardens, and hydration stations • design and construction guidelines for CBE schools for the development of naturalization areas, food gardens and hydration stations • our funding possibilities through external funders • CBE curriculum resources for the educational use of naturalization spaces; • community education partners who support the development of naturalization spaces and food gardens • CBE’s successful carbon offset initiative • selling of carbon credits on the carbon credit market in Alberta, resulting in $135K in funding for future naturalization and alternative energy projects. Facilitating Change in Comprehensive School Health - Marg Schwartz and Landra Hills, Silver Change in schools can be difficult and comprehensive school health implementation requires changes to the school culture to prioritize health. This session will provide fun and interactive processes used to generate discussion, gather voices and use evidence to help think about the school community with a different lens. Participants will take part in processes designed to facilitate change. Participants will participate in different processes that are used to gather voices, generate discussion and use evidence to effect action plan implementation. APPLE Schools presented a similar session two years ago to a very positive response. Since then we have created and found many new processes that we would to highlight this year. None of the same processes will be used that were two years ago. Making Healthy Eating Education Fun: Introducing the Cooking Club Manual and Sugar Shocker - Vanessa Baker and Charity Alcocer, Bronze Good nutrition is important for children & youth’s growth and development, and plays a 14
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key role in preventing chronic disease. It is also linked to better school performance and positive behaviours. Yet busy lifestyles often leave families feeling that they don’t have enough time to prepare healthy meals from scratch. This time crunch has led to increased use of convenience and fast foods. In turn, this has reduced the opportunities for children to learn basic cooking skills from their parents. Children and youth also have more freedom to make their own food choices and they are choosing pop, fruit flavoured drinks and slush beverages with alarming frequency. Regular consumption of convenience foods, fast foods and drinks with added sugar replaces the nutrition that comes from healthy foods. Join Public Health Dietitians from Alberta Health Services in an interactive session introducing two new comprehensive toolkits developed for teachers and community groups that can help children, youth and their families with these challenges. The Cooking Club Manual for Children and Youth supports children and youth in learning to cook. The Sugar Shocker Education Kit shows children and youth how much sugar they are consuming in the beverages they choose. These resource kits include ready–to-go lesson plans, background information and worksheets for the classroom and the kitchen. They support the Alberta Education Health and Life Skills curriculum, and are applicable and adaptable to children and youth from K-12. Foundation for Change: Healthy School Planner - Gail Diachuk, Sinclair/Palliser The Pan Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health provides tools and resources to support schools to implement a comprehensive school health approach. This presentation will highlight the Healthy School Planner, a tool co created with support from JCSH and the University of Waterloo with input from pilot schools in Alberta. The primary focus will be on the new Foundational Module of the Healthy School Planner which is being recommended for use by all schools interested in embedding a whole school approach to wellness. Discover how schools, organizations, and government can use the data to support improved health and learning outcomes.
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Session Descriptions Canadian Academy for Healthier Generations - Cynthia Watson, Dawson/Stewart The Academy is a collaborative and multi-sector initiative by a grassroots recreation association in Calgary. The research based living lab was launched in 2013 with a mandate to co-create new blueprints for healthy living. The Academy is headquartered at Cardel Place, yet the work may occur anywhere there are allies aligned with a healthier generations mission. This pioneering effort is in direct response to: Canada’s national challenge of increasing sedentary behaviour and decreasing physical activity, especially among children and youth; and the need for Canada’s public recreation sector to work effectively with the education sector do more to support Canadians, of all generations, in being more active and enjoying healthy living. Our goal is to spark life-long changes in individuals, families, communities, institutions, corporations, funders and others leading to improved healthy living, lower healthcare costs, increased productivity and stronger communities. We concentrate - with bias for action research, innovation, collaboration and social impact - our work on creating local solutions to the national challenge that can easily be transported to communities across the nation. Using Accelerometers to Measure Physical Activity Behaviours in Elementary School Children - Dwayne and Sonia Sheehan, Dawson/Stewart Polar Activity Monitors (PAM’s) are a wrist worn watch with a built in accelerometer that accurately measures daily activity. They provide instant and ongoing feedback to children that helps increase the awareness of their daily routine. The PAM’s have been successfully used in an elementary school physical education class and have several cross-curricular applications. They have also been used extensively in research involving children from 4-12 years old. This session will discuss both the experiences of the teacher and the researcher. Be Kind - Alexandra Zannis, Champion Teaching young women, and men, the importance of kindness. It is taking the negativity from bullying and making it positive to help kids find kind in their everyday lives. Instead of telling
young people in schools or in any instant in their life that bullying is bad they will tell you they already know that, So coming at it from another angle, such as be kind to others can really change the perspective towards bullying. Youth Directed Mentorship - Jennifer Hodge and Mary Appleton Dias, Champion Heart-to-Heart Mentoring: Dedicated to helping young girls develop a deeper understanding of who they are while building strong, positive relationships. Using a character-based framework to look critically at topics such as media messages, cliques, bullying, peer pressure and healthy lifestyle, Heart-to-Heart empowers young girls to love themselves for who they are. Knights in Training (KIT) Mentoring: A hands-on Mentoring program in which participants learn life lessons through the game of chess. While building their own chess board and individual chess pieces, the Mentees will learn how to follow a plan, build better relationships with their peers, foster inclusion and offer opportunities for individual growth in decision-making and character development. This session will discuss how to facilitate a youth directed mentorship program.
Concurrent Session 3 Teaching Youth with Depression – A Whole School Approach - Mary Dawn Eggleton, Gold Approximately 3.2 million Canadian youth are at risk for developing major depression but only one in five seek help. Studies show that when youth are struggling with mental wellness their relationships suffer, their school performance decreases and they can become hopeless. Canadian youth suicide rate is the 3rd highest in the industrial world. This session will include discussion around the myths of depression, signs and symptoms of depression in children and teens, causes and how to help. We will address specific teaching strategies, building resiliency, working with parents and empowering our youth. Focus will be on building a strategy to enhance an inclusive whole school well-being. 15
Session Descriptions An Inquiry Based Approach to Developing Physical Literacy in Schools - Deirdre Bailey and Dean Schmeichle, Silver Inquiry-based practice is redefining teaching and learning for a generation of students. It provides students with opportunities to deepen a specific set of competencies or understandings through authentic, real work that reflects the work that an adult at work or in the community might tackle. Physical education however, too often reverts to traditional, sport-specific development approaches and fails to cultivate habits, perspectives and understandings that lead to a life-long commitment to physical literacy. This year, our school spent considerable time reenvisioning our approach to physical education. With our students, we scanned the curriculum and Canada Sport for LIfe’s Long Term Athlete Development Model clarifying our understanding of general outcomes and physical literacy and approaching our year very differently. Come and learn about the results of this undertaking as we share videos of student work, student, parent and teacher reflections, as well as a closer look at our evolving. A PE Program that Gets Adolescents to Take Responsibility for their Fitness Today - Cari Din and Erin Dymond, Silver Teachers are presented with the opportunity to shape school-aged childrens’ attitudes, knowledge and behaviours. The purpose of the research that will be described in this collaborative presentation was to develop an in-depth understanding of leadership in a setting where a unique physical fitness program (Fit Log) is being used to promote personal health outcomes for junior high students. The researcher and the teacher who developed and delivers Fit Log today will explore student leadership and teacher leadership in this presentation. The impact of Fit Log on student’s attitudes and behaviours relating to physical activity will be detailed. The key leadership decisions and actions that are empowering adolescent P.E. students to understand their own health and fitness will be shared. We will connect you to the essential practices and structures that make Fit Log successful. Student engagement, pride and motivation will be discussed. This program was not always a success – Fit Log challenges and solutions will be presented. 16
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Ultimately, you will leave this collaborative presentation with an understanding of the leadership choices and actions that are making Fit Log successful in delivering the Alberta Physical Education objective of getting adolescents to take responsibility for their own fitness. Engaging Students in a Healthy School Community: A Panel Discussion - Matt Mitschke and Kaitlin Niksic, Bronze Are you looking for ways to engage students in creating a healthier school community? Do you want to learn about what Alberta schools are doing to involve students in Comprehensive School Health? Student engagement is an essential part of any healthy school community. Involving students in healthy school change builds strong leadership skills and improves buy-in for school health among all students. Come to this session to hear panelists from across the province discuss how students are engaged in school health initiatives. Participants will have the opportunity to gather new ideas and resources, share experiences, and ask questions. The Importance of a District/Division Perspective - Libby Coldbeck and Colleen Wright, Sinclair/ Palliser One of the best ways to ensure the sustainability of a healthy school community is to take a jurisdictional approach to creating a culture of wellness. This approach supports the premise that principals, teachers, staff and students can all play a role in infusing wellness both through the curriculum and into the culture of the school community. Participants will learn that by developing an ‘umbrella’ strategy, the district can take a holistic approach while supporting individual schools to address self-identified needs. Strengths Based Solutions for Lasting Success/ Leading your Life: Accessing the Strengths of a Community for Individual Success - Terri Dauter, Dawson/Stewart Based on the work of Dr. Donald Clifton, a founder of the school of positive psychology, Strengths Finder 2.0 is solidly founded on more than 40 years of research on human strengths involving more than 4 million people in 26 countries. Using the
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Session Descriptions Clifton Strengths Finder 2.0 resource, participants will learn how to distinguish between the four themes of strengths (Executing, Relationship, Strategic Thinking, and Influencing), and will be introduced to the 34 individual strengths.
evaluation. Promising practices to increase physical activity levels, healthy eating behaviours and school community engagement will be shared.
We will also discuss a “How to” on developing a highly relevant and successful STUDENTLED and COMMUNITY FED Life Skills program specific to your geographical area. We address topics such as effective communication, safe relationships, healthy sexuality, banking, budgeting, resume building, interview and job preparatory skills, hygiene, dealing with grief and loss, goal setting, self care and self-compassion, housing, mental health, addiction, financial support, and anything else that is deemed relevant by your clients. All aspects of the Leading your Life program are designed to increase student engagement within their community and at school, and increase feelings of connectedness to school and community resulting in positive outcomes individually and at a community level.
A Cross-Curricular Approach to High School Wellness - Laureen Lailey, Gold
The REAL Kids Alberta Evaluation - Erin Faught and Kerry Vander Ploeg, Champion The Raising healthy Eating and Active Living Kids Alberta (REAL Kids Alberta) evaluation is a joint project of the School of Public Health, University of Alberta and Alberta Health. The intent of this evaluation is to assess the impact of Alberta Health’s Healthy Weights Initiative and to provide some measurable behavioural and health outcomes for children in Alberta. REAL Kids also works very closely with several comprehensive school health initiatives across the province, using collected data to help inform program development, identify areas of need and areas where improvement has been shown due to program participation. We will expand on REAL Kids research activities and share the results of our evaluation. Got Data? Get Results - Erin Wright and Jenn Patrick, Champion Comprehensive school health knowledge is spreading across the province, but how can school communities use research to affect change? This session will focus on how school champions can affect change in school communities by using research results from the REAL Kids Alberta
Concurrent Session 4
Participants will learn about the High School Wellness Project and the incredible ways that staff in these schools are considering and embedding a cross-curricular competency based approach to wellness education. Learn more about the data collected to inform the work in schools, engagement strategies to get buy in from teachers and students, and resources co-created and shared by the field. Two Alberta jurisdictions will present their unique journey, and the greatest opportunities and barriers to their wellness strategy. A Classroom Perspective to Inspiring Education: Embedding Wellness into the High School - Cheryl Shinkaruk, Gold Alberta’s vision for education is to provide opportunities for all students to become engaged thinkers, ethical citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit. One of the ways to accomplish this is to ensure that student wellness is an integral part of the high school experience. The K-12 Wellness Education Framework includes Health and Physical Education Programs of Study, Wellnessrelated Courses and Across All Curricula. This session will provide valuable information on how to begin the process of embedding wellness within high school core subjects. Participants will come away with innovative ideas on how to adapt and to strengthen the great work already occurring in the classroom, as well, new and innovative techniques to embed wellness in Math, Social Studies, Sciences and English. Adolescent Mental Health - Kathy Penner, Gold Adolescent Mental Illness is fast becoming a primary topic of concern in schools. The number of students with Anxiety disorders are growing and the need for improved Mental Health 17
Session Descriptions Literacy is crucial. This session will overview parts of the “Mental Health and High School Curriculum Guide” developed with the Sun Life Financial Chair in Adolescent Mental Health from Dalhousie University. This session will focus on the need for a common Mental Health literacy and how I have been able to promote this valuable work with my whole High School as a Teacher in a “Mental Health Class” using the Comprehensive School Health model as part of the CBE’s HIgh School Wellness Project. Healthy Schools Start on the Inside: Developing an Employee Wellness Program - Megan Hunter, Silver The Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) is a holistic health organization committed to creating resources to foster healthy lifestyles and healthy workplaces within the Alberta education sector. We tailor our services to support school employees in their efforts to make the educational experiences of Alberta’s students the best they can be. Like many sectors in Alberta, school employees are at risk for chronic disease, injury and poor physical and mental health. The ASEBP believes employee health is a shared responsibility between the individual and the employer. When school employees stay well, everyone wins! Employers appreciate high productivity, lower absenteeism and reduced benefit plan costs. Employees enjoy good physical and mental health and a higher quality of life. We also recognize the importance of setting a positive example for students. Developing a comprehensive program to promote a culture of wellness in schools will benefit all members of the school community. The ASEBP knows there isn’t a “one-size fits all” approach to promoting health. During this session participants will learn about the ASEBP “Self-Directed Wellness Guide.” Our interactive presentation will provide an overview of this resource and explain how ASEBP school jurisdictions can use it to develop a comprehensive and tailored Wellness Program for their workplace. Participants will learn the SCHOOL formula designed to plan, build and sustain a thriving program and will brainstorm about applying the model in their own school or jurisdiction.
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Healthy Schools: A Conversation Designed for You - Lorna Muise, Matt Mitschke and Cathy White, Bronze Do you have something exciting to share about how your school or district is creating healthy school communities? Are you struggling to overcome a barrier or needing access to new or different resources? Do you want to explore steps for moving forward as an individual and as a larger group? Join us for a discussion where participants identify the topics, build their own agenda, then connect with people passionate about creating healthy school communities. This structured, yet informal session, is designed to help you connect with the people that you need to speak with the people that can help strengthen your work. Through a series of conversations, you will be able to share your ideas with “like minded” people and support efforts as this work moves forward throughout the province. Wild Rose School Division - Lessons learned - Stanton Swain, Bronze Wild Rose School Division is well into its fourth year of a health and wellness project and through this process has learned many valuable lessons. The project lead, at least one health champion and a trustee will share their knowledge of the challenges they faced and the steps that were taken to overcome these challenges. Building Positive Mental Health through Whole School Approach - Matt Mitschke and Jacqui Currie, Sinclair/ Palliser Does your school promote healthy relationships among staff and students? Does your school encourage students and staff to share their opinions and ideas? Does every student have a personal connection to at least one adult in the school? Is your school welcoming? In this session, you’ll learn about tools and resources that support a whole-school approach to creating a positive school culture: where students feel safe, valued and feel that they belong; where students are taught how to cope with stress and develop resiliency; and where practices and procedures shape a respectful, welcoming and supportive school environment. You will have an opportunity
Session Descriptions to share and reflect on your school’s current practices related to positive mental health. This session will increase your confidence in leading a discussion at your school about how to embed positive mental health into everyday routines as well as into activities and events already planned at your school. Positive Mental Health in Schools - Kim Hordal-Hlewka and Tricia Giles-Wang, Sinclair/Palliser This session will give you an opportunity to network and learn about different resources, supports, and partners that support Positive Mental Health within schools. We will also connect to some success stories throughout the province. Media Creation as an Engagement Strategy in Aboriginal Schools - Jason Gondziola, Dawson/Stewart This presentation will highlight the importance of using filmmaking and artistic production as an engagement strategy with high school students. In many cases, youth aren’t willing to talk directly about social and sexual health issues. Through creative engagement, facilitators and teachers can find alternate avenues to discuss these important issues. Jason will share examples and strategies from his work with Aboriginal students through amiskwaciy Academy, Dreamspeakers On Tour, and Sharing Spirit, a digital oral history and storytelling project he runs at several Edmonton high schools. He will also discuss how to organize a media campaign at your school, using examples from the “Don’t You Get It” campaign from Roland Michener Secondary School in Slave Lake. Participants will talk about issues and ideas around their schools and offer insights about how to build arts and media campaigns around them. Outdoor Education: Pathways to Lifelong Activity and Healthy Schools - Albert Sole, Champion In the struggle to increase physical activity levels for Canadians of all ages the critically important role that outdoor activity for children plays, or could play, has largely been overlooked. This presentation will briefly discuss why this has happened and highlight key skills and attitudes
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that outdoor activity can and should provide in preparing children to become active for life. I will then suggest concrete strategies for how teachers, schools, or boards can create vibrant outdoor programming that effectively prepares students for lifelong active lifestyles. I will also show how implementing these strategies will fundamentally influence school culture in ways that contribute positively to every factor that impacts comprehensive school health. Injury Prevention in Children and Adolescents - Rebecca Carnduff and Benjamin Tan, Champion Injury Prevention in Children and Adolescents Injuries are the leading cause of death and hospitalization in youth, and their consequences consume enormous resources. In Alberta, it is estimated that 35% of youth (ages 11-18) sustain a sport and recreational injury requiring medical attention each year. Sports participation is a major factor in the physical, cognitive, and social development of children, but 8% of youth that are active drop out of sport annually because of injury. One potential outcome associated with sport dropout is inactivity, which is a major health issue in Canada and is associated with negative health outcomes such as obesity and chronic disease. The Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC) is a multi-disciplinary team based at the University of Calgary in the Faculty of Kinesiology. The goal of SIPRC is to decrease rates of sport injury in children and adolescents, while promoting continued participation in sport. We have developed a number of intervention strategies, such as training programs designed to decrease the risk of injury in young athletes in a sport or school setting. The process of program development and implementation will be discussed, highlighting successful examples of injury prevention initiatives in the community. Past, present, and future research studies will also be introduced, and their relevance to current school settings will be demonstrated. Attendees will also be invited to participate in selected injury prevention exercises during the session.
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Session Descriptions
Saturday, January 25 Concurrent Session 5
Living, Laughing, Loving, Learning and Lifestyle: Maintaining Personal Balance - Bill Gordon, Gold Originally developed for care givers, this presentation has been adapted for other groups including secondary health/CALM students. The session focuses on the importance of life balance in maintaining personal wellness not only physically but mentally. During the session, attendees participate in a series of short activities to examine their own current level of balance and to consider future opportunities to enhance that level. Attending to Students’ Emotional Well-being to Enhance Student Success - John Burger, Jeff Chalmers, Robert Kimura, Tara Sly, Denise Weaver and Brenda Valerio, Silver Rocky View Schools is ramping up research and development on better ways to be responsive to students’ affective experience of school by measuring seven factors captured by the Student Orientation to School Questionnaire: Safe and Caring, Peers, External Resilience, Internal Resilience, Self-Confidence, Utility of School and Extra-Curricular. In the initial pilot phase of researching the SOS-Q as a strategic tool to better understand students who may be disengaging from school an additional five schools joined the original four in use of the SOS-Q. This additional participation has resulted in more intense analysis of the SOS-Q data with the objective of better understanding how the SOS-Q constructs predict school achievement as well as how school staff can best use the individual and cohort SOSQ profiles to better support student engagement in school. In this presentation Dr. Burger will summarize some of the data analytic applications that have been applied to better understand SOSQ data. Denise Weaver and Jeff Chalmers will describe strategic applications of the SOSQ in a large middle school context and Tara Sly and Rob Kimura will discuss how they are using the SOSQ data to ensure no students fall through the cracks within a mid size (500+) high school context. 20
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The Role of the Administrator in Changing School Culture within a Comprehensive School Health Framework - Erica Roberts, Bronze In order to move towards evidence-based practice and ultimately have a greater positive impact on the health of children and youth, it is important to continually evaluate Comprehensive School Health (CSH) initiatives. Previously conducted process evaluations of one such initiative, the Alberta Project Promoting active Living and healthy Eating in schools (APPLE Schools), revealed that the uncont ested support of the principal was seen as imperative for program success. This discovery has yet to be fully unpacked within the context of APPLE Schools, and has not been comprehensively explored within the literature. To fill this gap in knowledge, a focused ethnography was conducted wherein semi-structured interviews were conducted with APPLE School administrator to qualitatively explore their role in establishing a healthy school community. Preliminary results have suggested: 1) Administrators function as key and active ‘supporters’ in relation to the implementation of the project. This implies that they may not be the main leader of the project, but need to show that they are supportive; 2) administrators, as school leaders, must value the principles behind the program and actively rolemodel healthy behaviours; and 3) administrators must enable students and staff to take ownership of the project. This requires that the administrator build relationships with these individuals and avoid imposing their own agenda in pursuit of immediate results. This presentation will describe these interview findings and will share learning on how this knowledge can be used to enhance Comprehensive School Health practice, research and policy. Student Leadership and Health Promotion - Ashley Fox, Sinclair/Palliser Thanks to the support of The Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund, the Be Fit For Life Network has been supporting the implementation of student wellness teams across the province. The P.H.A.T (Positive, Healthy, Active, Today) project started in Calgary and has recently moved across Alberta to four new communities. This session will highlight successes and strategies for giving students a
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Session Descriptions voice in creating a healthy school environment. Links to the Alberta curriculum, leadership extension activities and hands on tools will be shared. The new Leadership & Health Promotion resource recently released by Be Fit For Life will be explored and used throughout this interactive session. Participants will be involved by being given the opportunity to discuss and share current challenges and opportunities when it comes to promoting wellness in the school environment. Participants will also have an opportunity to use and explore the new Leadership & Health Promotion resource and take away applicable tools to use when working with students and school health champions. The Youth Engagement Toolkit: Bringing Youth Voice to Comprehensive School Health - Katherine Kelly, Dawson/Stewart Both research and experience have demonstrated that youth engagement and youth-adult partnerships can change a young person’s life for the better. The Youth Engagement Toolkit is designed to provide the reader with insight into the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of youth engagement, as well as expected outcomes! Developed for the PanCanadian Joint Consortium for School Health by and with the Students Commission of Canada, the Youth Engagement Toolkit provides definitions of youth engagement, a ‘how-to’ guide for authentic and sustained engagement practices, video clips, an indicator framework, and an evaluation model, with an extensive list and weblinks to Resources. The Toolkit’s aims are threefold: (1) To help communicate the importance of youth engagement as a key approach in implementing comprehensive school health; (2) To provide research and rationale for practicing youth engagement in schools, school boards and districts, government ministries, health regions, and community organizations; and (3) To provide a ‘how-to’ resource of effective practices to support youth engagement in these contexts. Healthy Living: Through Their Eyes - Kirsten Leslie and Suzana Domo, Dawson/ Stewart Action for Healthy Communities has developed an after school program that aims to teach Healthy Living as it relates to each school and its’ needs. Recognizing that a “one size fits all” model does
not work with every school and certainly does not meet the needs of each child. Covering topics such as challenges faced in the planning process and how they were addressed. Finding balance in the program and bringing in partners to make for more engaging and affective programming. Finally how the program has drastically impacted not only the participants but their parents and the surrounding communities as well. Collaborating for Success: Implementing the Active Alberta Policy - Damien Traverse and Lisa Tink, Champion This session will explore how vested partners can collectively work towards the vision of the Active Alberta Policy. As a 10 year government wide policy, Active Alberta is designed to contribute to quality of life, health and wellness, strong communities, personal fulfillment and economic benefits through recreation, active living and sport. To date, Active Alberta is the only government wide policy designed to contribute to quality of life by enabling Albertans to become more active. Approved by 11 Ministries, the policy identifies the importance of a coordinated approach when working towards increasing physical activity in diverse communities and environments across Alberta. Previous efforts indicate that policy plays an important role in addressing complex issues such as quality of life. As with most policies however, implementation in practice is a crucial piece in determining its success. So while the Active Alberta Policy provides the province with a collective vision there is still a need to determine what can be done to work towards achieving the policy’s outcomes. This session will therefore provide an opportunity to discuss how ALL partners can continue to work toward mutual goals and collectively achieve the outcomes of the Active Alberta Policy.
Concurrent Session 6 Healthy Schools Speed Dating - Felicia Ochs and Matt Mitschke, Gold Have you ever walked away from a conference and felt like you want to stay connected to great people doing great work in the area of comprehensive school health? Spend your morning with over 12 health champions and division leads from diverse school communities within Black Gold Regional 21
Session Descriptions and Parkland School Division. Facilitated by Alberta Health Services Health Promotion Coordinators, each speed date will provide you with an interactive opportunity to look at what’s working well within the four pillar areas of rural and urban K-12 schools. Through the use of technology, you’ll have the opportunity to use each date to adapt, not adopt great ideas. You will also have the chance to try out a few fun activities that are being used with students in the classroom. Every date is guaranteed to spice up the chemistry of your school’s action plan. All participants are encouraged to create a Gmail account prior to attending this session. Brain Builders and Juggling with Action Schools! BC - Allyson Epp, Silver This session is for educators interested in the relationship between physical activities and brain development and function. The Brain Dance lesson in the Action Schools! BC Physical Activity Action Resource will be highlighted and participants will also learn to identify “brain building” movements in other physical activities. Juggling develops agility, hand-eye coordination and the ability of the eyes to track and focus. Using bean bags, scarves and footbags, participants will learn to provide a safe yet powerful brain break for their students. Additional fundamental movement skills, balance, and other concepts will be covered. Complimentary teacher resources from Action Schools! BC will be provided. AHKC’s Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth - Jennifer Cowie Bonne, Bronze Join Active Healthy Kids Canada as we discuss our latest Report Card released in May 2013. This year the spotlight is being shone on the dramatic decline in active travel among children and the corresponding increased reliance on motorized transportation. Jennifer Cowie Bonne, CEO of Active Healthy Kids Canada will present the Report Card and the materials and tools that are available to support your work promoting healthy active living across Canada. Get your questions ready and don’t miss this exciting opportunity!
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Promoting Healthy Relationships: 5 Essential Strategies - Kim Campbell, Sinclair/Palliser Healthy relationships are essential for healthy development. As adult leaders, it is critical to create safe, caring respectful environments where children and youth can develop positive relationships and learn the skills for building healthy relationships with others. Strategies for developing rapport, coaching students and creating positive group dynamics must be intentionally employed to help all children and youth develop the social skills for academic success and emotional well-being. This session is based on part of PREVnet’s Healthy Youth Relationship Module. Supporting Grade 7-12 School Students in Developing Healthy Relationships - Libby Coldbeck, Sinclair/Palliser Healthy relationships are pivotal in all schools and are a key component of a healthy school community; this is especially true among students considered to be at-risk and without other positive adult interaction. This session will highlight the work of schools across the province focused on developing healthy relationships for grade 7-12 students, utilizing the creativity and innovation of students. By linking to the curriculum, healthy relationships will not become an “add on” but support students in developing lifelong skills. Links can be made to drama, art, CALM, CTS, HPE, computer technology, biology, religion and language arts. Media is also a powerful communicative tool allowing exploration of feelings and intuitions through music, storytelling, cinema, film, video, dance, etc. Some of the areas that can be addressed through a healthy relationship focus are: • Effective communication, sexting, sex and social media, impact of technology on communication in relationships, cyber bullying • Setting boundaries, dating violence, forms of assault and the cycle of violence, prevention and intervention strategies for violence, the law and the ramifications of relationship violence • Sexual rights, LGBT inclusiveness, Intergender communication • Self-esteem, body image, talking to teens
Session Descriptions •
Connectedness to school and community, positive peer pressure, student mentorship and leadership • The impact of addictions • Sexual health and well-being, birth control, sexually transmitted infections. This session will also highlight the power of student voice in supporting healthy relationships, peer mentoring and advocacy, as well as exploring how to engage disengaged students. Farm to Cafeteria Canada: Bringing Local, Fresh Food into our Hospitals, Schools, and Universities - Cathy White, Dawson/Stewart Farm to Cafeteria programs connect farm to fork bringing local, nutritious and sustainably produced foods into public agencies - places where we learn, work, are healed and play. Farm to School, Farm to Campus and Farm to Hospital are all Farm to Cafeteria programs. Linking farms to health care facilities, campuses and schools is a simple idea that has inspired the spread of Farm to Cafeteria programs. These programs offer great potential to address two of the major challenges of our society: concern about the diet and health of our population and concern about the sustainability of current regional and institutional food systems. I will tell the story of Farm To Cafeteria Canada through pictures. I will share our Mission, Vision and Objectives. Results of a national survey with hospitals, campuses and schools will be shared as well. An important part of the how is the use of community development to involve the populations in assessing their environment, planning for change and initiating the changes. This all includes interaction between community and people and the strengthening of relationships, mental wellbeing, active living and healthy eating. Communities across the country are collectively demanding structural and policy transformation towards sustainable, healthy, resilient and economically viable regional food systems.
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Many Hands Make Light Work… But What is the Secret to Engaging Others? - Leslie Prenoslo and Jacqui Currie, Champion We know that building a healthy school community requires engagement from a variety of stakeholders such as students, teachers, administrators, parents, school district representatives and community partners. However engaging these stakeholders is not always an easy task. Are you looking to transform people into healthy school community “believers”? How can you convince them that this work is worthwhile, rather than all encompassing and time consuming? We know that one person alone cannot be responsible for this task. This session will profile some tried and true solutions from around the province on how to create strong buy-in from all stakeholders. There will also be time for sharing school successes and troubleshooting current challenges and barriers.
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Building Healthy School Communities Healthy students are better learners and better-educated students are healthier Alberta Health Services (AHS) partners with school jurisdictions and school communities to support the health of children and youth. AHS uses a Comprehensive School Health approach to improve student health outcomes and behaviours. Areas of focus include healthy eating, active living, mental health, oral health, injury prevention, and prevention of alcohol, tobacco and substance use.
Health Promotion Coordinators (all areas) and School Health Facilitators (central Alberta*) are two of the many types of health professionals who support healthy school communities in Alberta. We are located across the province, as shown in the map to the right. How We Support Healthy School Communities • • • •
•
We assist school jurisdictions to identify priority areas for action and then support the development, implementation and evaluation of action plans. We provide professional development opportunities related to healthy school communities. We connect schools and communities to resources that support healthy school environments. We support health and wellness policy development and implementation and assist with interpreting and implementing the Alberta Nutrition Guidelines for Children and Youth and other relevant school health guidelines. We connect schools with the right health professional to support them in developing a healthy school community.
To find a Health Promotion Coordinator or School Health Facilitator in your area, please email: HealthyWeightsTeam@albertahealthservices.ca
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Exhibitors
Champions for Children and Youth
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Notes
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Ever Active Schools
Leading the Way! Alberta’s voice for Healthy School Communities