OHSC News - February 2020

Welcome to the February edition of our newsletter.

Please note that the consultation on the public health system closes on February 10. It is important that the Ministry of Health hears from healthy school supporters across the province, so please encourage everyone to participate. You can provide input by reading the discussion paper and completing a survey.

 

Make sure to circle these dates on your calendar:

February 20: OHSC web/teleconference meeting. Click here to let us know if you will be participating.

March 3: Watch for the next edition of this newsletter.

March 31 - April 1: Our annual conference. More details below.

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Register now for our annual conference!
Inspiring speakers, informative workshops, and great networking opportunities

Registration is now open for the OHSC annual conference, which will take place in London from March 31 to April 1, 2020.

Join us for an amazing line-up of speakers, including Reggie Leach, a former NHL player who works to promote resiliency and self-care among Indigenous youth. The conference is also a great opportunity to connect with healthy school supporters from across the province. 

See full conference program

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Collaborative Inquiry on Healthy Schools Practices
Project shows promising results

Throughout the 2018-2019 school year, four teachers from four schools in two unique school boards (rural/urban) participated in a collaborative inquiry project supported by the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition with funding from the Knowledge Network on Student Well-being.

The project explored the question "In educating students about fundamental physical literacy skills through a healthy school framework, will their physical activity levels, sense of well-being, and sense of acceptance and willingness to be physically active, improve?" The participating educators met throughout the year to share what they were learning, discuss ways to deepen students' learning, and come up with ideas to improve their work.

Over 200 students in Grades 2 to 8 participated, and assessment results showed that the project not only increased students'' knowledge in relation to physical literacy and mental health and well-being, but also helped to create a more positive school atmosphere. There was a notable increase in the number of students who felt a sense of belonging at school, as well as a greater acceptance from other peers and staff members. 

Read the full report

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OHSC membership renewal
Renew now and support our work!

We count on your membership fees to support the coalition's work, so please click here to renew your membership now.

If you have questions, please contact Arlene Morell at amorell@rogers.com.

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Schools cannot do it alone!
Working together for student success

At a recent conference organized by the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, Chris Preece, chair of the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition, spoke to the benefits of stronger and more effective links between education and health partners for the benefit of both students and staff. In her presentation, Chris talked about the work of the OHSC as an example of an effective partnership between the education and health sectors in support of healthy school communities.

See the highlights from the presentation.

 

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Research, Resources, and Learning Opportunities

Public Health Ontario has released the results of its Children Count pilot study on the use of school climate surveys for coordinated health monitoring and planning for children and youth. There is also a toolkit to support school boards and public health units to collect child and youth health and well-being information in a partnership model, for collaborative action.

The EdCan Network has launched its Well at Work campaign to spread the message of workplace well-being in K-12 education.

Register now for Health Impact Assessment (HIA): A Tool for Developing Healthy Public Policies. The webinar takes place on February 13 in English and February 20 in French.

The 2020 PHE National Conference takes place from April 29 to May 2 in PEI.

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Got an article idea?

We welcome content submissions from our membership. Do you have a great resource, a successful program, relevant research, or a professional development opportunity that you would like us to feature? Send your content submissions to onthsc@gmail.com.