In a Time of COVID-19
The coronavirus is dominating our everyday life these days. SHE is
concerned about COVID-19’s consequences on health and our society
structure. Health promoting schools have a commitment to focus on
physical, mental, social and environmental health and to ensure
learning and well-being, even when schools are closed. Fortunately,
there are many good examples of how teachers and communities ensure
this! SHE encourages you to write your story to
uped@ucsyd.dk and let us share it with the world. Do follow
SHE's Facebook profile and encourage your friends to sign up as
followers. That way we can inspire and spread the message of promoting
health in these difficult times. See an example from Slovenia below.
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Home Schooling in Slovenia - Corona on the Agenda
In Slovenia, as well as in many other countries, people are confronted
with the problem of the coronavirus epidemic. Schools have been closed,
and students are in isolation, studying at home with the help of online
education.
The teachers at the Primary school Janka Ribiča Cezanjevci, part of the
Network of healthy schools, emphasize the importance of proper hygiene,
healthy lifestyle and how to behave in order to stay healthy during an
epidemic. The students write various narrative
stories about the coronavirus and are excellent models their
surroundings in this time of isolation.
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News from the SHE Research Group
Despite changes to the 2020 workplan, the SHE research group continues
to work and meet targets. Online meetings have a bigger place in our
lives and key face-to-face meetings have been postponed. Empirical
research at schools has slowed down and schools are
now prioritising essential work with children and young people. Some
countries continue to have open schools either partially or full time
whilst other have closed schools completely. Research group members who
also teach, are currently facing the need for
implementing innovative digital practices. There is also an increased
need to encourage students to work and follow their schedule as much as
possible, to motivate them, and to keep them informed.
Despite this drastic situation worldwide, we commend the ability of our
members to continue to work together, sharing thoughts, and planning the
future. We are in the process of establishing a series of webinars
within the next few months and will keep you
informed. |
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Ressouces from WHO on COVID-19
See
WHO's resources for parents on how to:
- Communicate with children about COVID-19
- Help children cope with stress
- Organize home schooling
- Focus on play and fun
- Take care of children with disabilities |
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New Publication
A new publication, "Health, well-being and education: Building a
sustainable future. The Moscow statement on Health Promoting Schools"
has been published in the journal ‘Health Education’ as open access. The
purpose of this paper is to introduce the official
statement of the Fifth European Conference on Health-Promoting Schools
in Moscow, November 2019, and state it’s recommendations and calls for
action to meet the challenges for health promoting schools in Europe.
Read the paper. |
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Cooking Kids
In Slovenia, toddlers are invited to school to cook with their primary
school friends. The focus is on inter-peer motivation regarding healthy
food and a healthy lifestyle. The project shows that both the young and
the older children learn something new during
their participation. Preschoolers have mastered new skills, in fact,
the teachers are surprised by what they can do! The Primary School
students learn about transferring knowledge and about cooperation. The
activities are part of the Cooking Kids program:
a program co-financed by the Slovenian Ministry of Health and in
cooperation with the National Institute of Public Health of Slovenia.
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Promoting Health Literacy of School-aged Children in Germany
The mandatory media literacy curriculum for teaching in German schools
addresses the health literacy core competencies find, understand,
appraise and use information. By using that framework and integrating
health as a topic, ‘the Toolbox’ was developed. The
box can be used by schoolteachers and other educational professionals
and does not only provide an instrument to address health literacy but
facilitates mandatory teaching on media literacy. During this year the
toolbox will be piloted in schools. In the long
run the Toolbox should be introduced to different age groups and
regions in Germany and internationally.
Read more. |
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No Junk Food
Can you live without fast food, soft drinks and sweets? Parents from one
of Kazakhstan's health promoting schools met with the school to discuss
their children's challenges and current problems concerning their
children's health. Being located in the northern
part of the country in severe weather conditions, adults see healthy
eating and physical activity as top priorities not just for their
children but for themselves as well. As the result of this initiative,
families made a commitment to exclude junk food from
their daily agenda. |
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New Handbook of Health Promotion Research
A new handbook for research on health promotion is on its way. It will
present a state of the art manual for health promotion research, to map
and organize the research practice of those involved in producing and
sharing the knowledge base for health promotion
practices. The handbook will present original contributions from
researchers in the field and it will be published under the auspices of
the UNESCO Chair and WHO Collaborating Centre “Global Health &
Education” and the Canadian Research Chair on Community
Approaches and Health Inequalities, in partnership with the
International Union for Health Promotion and Education.
Get more information. |
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To be Environmentally Healthy
2020 is the Year of Volunteers in Kazakhstan. Students of the school in
Semey City in the east of Kazakhstan are actively involved in
environmental volunteering, a concept that is supported by the whole
school approach on their path to achieve UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals number 4: Quality Education (e.g. by reducing
exposure of children to neurodevelopmental toxins, or providing safe
water, sanitation and hygiene services in schools).
Upon their own initiative, students organized spaces for a relaxation
room, a photo studio and a chess club. Furniture for the spaces was
collected by children from waste and renovated by their handicraft
teacher. Students and teachers created decorations and
paintings using their own designs. In their biology classes, students
organized an artificial garden with drip irrigation.
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Case Report: Good Practice in North Macedonia
“The three hours spent with these kids were really interesting. I met
new friends, heard many other attitudes and opinions, discussed topics
that concerned teachers, parents, children. I hope that this
collaboration will happen again because I really liked
the atmosphere that was between us. The ideas we gave I think can
really change something”. This quote comes from Simona K. who is
elementary school pupil from Skopje. She participated in the workshop
”Mental health of adolescents”, designed for students of
13 and 15 years.
Read the case report. |
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New Project on Physical Literacy
The International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) is a leading
consortium of 11 partners from the grassroots sport, education and
health sectors, and physical literacy experts who are paving the way for
the concept of physical literacy to be recognised
internationally as a lifelong journey that encompasses physical,
affective and cognitive dimensions. The project’s diverse partners come
from Denmark, Switzerland, UK, Australia, Portugal, France, Bulgaria,
Slovenia and Spain. Although the concept has the
potential for highlighting the importance of a pupils’ engagement in
movement and physical activity behaviour, there is still further
groundwork to be done to integrate physical literacy into school
curricula and the life of all citizens around Europe. This
project, aims to give physical literacy the same importance as numeracy
and language literacy.
Read more. |
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Illegal Substances in Sports Discussed at School
In the primary school Vodice in Slovenia, a workshop was organized with
the aim to warn students against the consequences of using illegal
substances. In an overwhelming desire for success and profit, athletes
may decide to consume illegal substances in their
chase for victory. In the long run, such behaviour can cause severe
health problems, such as myocardial infarctions and increased blood
pressure. it’s important to discuss this with children to raise their
awareness of the negative effects of illegal substances
and to encourage them to adopt sport in a healthy way. |
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SHE Academy 2020 - First Announcement
- Do you have an interest in school health promotion?
- Do you want to increase your comptences on school health promotion?
Then sign up for the SHE Academy to be held at University of Maastricht
in the Nederlands on 4th - 6th November 2020. The theme is health
literacy. The SHE Academy is open for everyone interested in health
promoting schools. Fee: 100 Euros.
The SHE Academy is a unique opportunity to critically discuss
perspectives and dilemmas from practice in an international learning
environment, with input by leading scholars and experts from the field
of school-based health promotion and education. This is
the seventh course organised by SHE.
See the first announcement.