SCHOOLS FOR HEALTH IN EUROPE NEWSLETTER #2 - 2020

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.