Healthy School Teams Unite for Success in OCDSB

Previously published in Volume 82, Issue 4

In April of 2016, ten schools from the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB) participated in a two-day Healthy School Communities (HSC) learning and mentoring workshop delivered by PHE Canada. The workshop supported the process of embracing the Comprehensive School Health (CSH) Framework and forming a plan to develop healthier school communities.

Each school was asked to assemble a school health team that was representative of teachers, school administration, students, parents and community stakeholders. Rather than individual schools working in isolation to promote school health, the workshop presented Healthy School Teams with the opportunity to unite their work and create a collective approach across the entire district to enhance CSH. Following the workshop, participating schools received a grant towards school health planning.

Building a Community of Practice (COP)
Working with other schools in a COP
Offering training in a COP rather than to individual schools has the benefit of providing Healthy School Teams with a more supportive environment that builds on existing school experiences and promotes shared learning across multiple schools, while also ensuring greater alignment with board and provincial goals. The workshop provided opportunities for networking within the newly established COP. Following the workshop, many of the schools were able to continue to communicate and develop relationships:

• AY Jackson Secondary School reached out to teachers at some nearby schools to share information, ideas, community contacts and pricing/funding
• The Healthy School Team at Mary Honeywell Elementary School connected with another school from the workshop to share their DPA/QPHE survey
• Roch Carrier Elementary School, a feeder school to Glen Cairn Public School, liaised with the Glen Cairn principal about mental health initiatives at the intermediate level and how Roch Carrier could provide support with preparatory initiatives for elementary students
• York Street, Hawthorne, and Glashan Public Schools have been in contact with each other in order to provide mutual support through the HSC process

Community engagement
Schools participating in the workshop were able to broaden their scope of support for healthy school community initiatives by looking to community members and organizations for support:

• A.Y. Jackson was able to find community partners (former students, community members, college/university volunteers) willing to volunteer their time or work at a reduced cost as health speakers, fitness instructors, and CPR/First Aid instructors
• Kars on the Rideau Public School wants to invite experts to introduce students to new sports (tennis, cricket, dance) and provide them with the opportunity to try them out
• Osgoode Township High School is looking for community involvement in the development of a Healthy School Action Plan, and later plans to reach out to community volunteers with various expertise (exercise professionals, health and nutrition professionals, etc.)
• Roch Carrier invited a Public Health Nurse, a Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre Child & Youth Worker, and a CHEO Mental Health Representative to give input on the HSC initiative
• At York Street, Onyxtasia African Diaspora Productions will come into the school in the upcoming year to offer storytelling and dance instruction, and the school is also partnering with Champions for Life to offer a program for more effective physical education for Grades 1-3

Working with student families
Another strategy that schools identified as critical to improving school health involved engaging student families in health initiatives by inviting them to school events:

• Mary Honeywell held a family Zumba night during Education Week
• At Rideau High School, the Team would like to engage parents to help teach students about nutrition, ensuring that conversations about meal preparation and grocery shopping take place at home and continue after students have left the school
• Robert Hopkins Public School asked for input from parents and staff on its Healthy School Action Plan and made a request for parents to join the Healthy School Team

Design and focus of school health initiatives
Data sources
Healthy School Teams in the OCDSB COP used a variety of data sources (e.g. surveys, health profiles) to set new goals and evaluate achievement:

• Kars on the Rideau, Mary Honeywell, Osgoode Township, York Street, Rideau High, and Robert Hopkins used student, staff, and parent surveys to assess school health and set goals
• Mary Honeywell plans to look into Healthy Schools Certification from Ophea to determine current level (Gold, Silver or Bronze) and allow goal setting to increase level in subsequent years
• Hawthorne used observations from lunch rooms, food purchased, and attendance at breakfast club to assess school nutrition and plans to look at student sport and recess participation
• AY Jackson collected data on students’ wants and needs, and then addressed them by setting up a fitness room with equipment and offering free fitness classes; now they intend to measure student attendance in fitness classes, the use of fitness facilities, the results of a school fitness survey, and the learning outcomes from Fitness/Health Days
• AY Jackson also used data on public health, tobacco and drug use, and bullying, while Osgoode Township used Ontario Student Survey data on drug use, mental health, and body image
• Glashan has implemented a system for teachers to track DPA by recording the number of exercises performed and the time spent on each exercise, and has set a specific goal to increase students’ physical activity by 40-70 minutes per week
• Roch Carrier and York Street used personal interviews to get feedback from families and staff

Student Involvement and leadership
Many of the schools in the OCDSB COP looked to involve students in the planning process and provide them with leadership opportunities:

• At AY Jackson, students have the opportunity to become Fitness & Health Ambassadors on the Healthy School Team, and students enrolled in the Data Management course may examine some real data sets and summarize them for the Healthy School Team
• Glashan’s first ever Active Learning Challenge will be introduced by a group of grade 7 students at a Healthy School Learning assembly (the winning class will receive a healthy Subway Lunch)
• Rideau High’s Sources of Strength group organized a half-day of mental health workshops

Physical activity programs, events and environment
A focus for many of the schools in the OCDSB COP was physical activity. Schools developed creative initiatives to help students be more active:

• AY Jackson offers Spinning Tuesdays, Yoga Wednesdays, and Spinning Thursdays fitness classes at lunchtime and after school, and hopes to add kickboxing and Zumba classes next semester
• AY Jackson also runs Fitness/Health Days to introduce all Grade 9 students to the school’s free fitness facilities, classes, and the health benefits of physical activity
• AY Jackson plans to encourage active play and healthy active living during free time at school (before and after school, lunchtime, and on spare) by setting up basketball and volleyball nets outside, as well as providing a “library” of sports equipment that students can borrow at lunch
• AY Jackson also plans to examine and discuss accessibility in the school
• Kars on the Rideau wants to use cooperative games centred on physical literacy to promote healthy living – some staff put together a “toolbox,” including YouTube videos, games lists, and websites, for use by teachers who are not as comfortable with the new physical literacy models
• Kars on the Rideau also planned a school-wide Fun Day to showcase cooperative games and healthy lifestyle choices, and encourages field trips that have a physical activity component
• Kars on the Rideau recently installed a track and will use it for many extra-curricular activities such as walking/running groups and hosting future regional track and field meets, as well as opening it up to other schools in the superintendency
• Rideau High has started a girls’ fitness club that meets twice a week for yoga, aerobics, and other activities to engage students who want to be active but are not interested in competition
• Roch Carrier runs a Primary Gym Club and Junior Open Gym (intramural program), and also promotes physical activity with school-wide events and initiatives like Hoops for Heart, Jump Rope for Heart, “Momentum Movement” Hip Hop dance workshop with Mr. Bill, and the Active Transportation Committee (Junior students promoting active transportation)
• Glashan plans to have more frequent fitness/body breaks on regular school days

Mental health and mindfulness
In addition to a focus on physical activity, several of the Healthy School Teams have taken a holistic approach to school health, focusing on mental wellness and mindfulness practices as well:

• AY Jackson would like to offer mindfulness classes to students next year and has developed mental health initiatives to help students cope with exam stress in April and May (stress management, reduction, and normalization)
• Glashan is looking at encouraging a holistic approach to education through body, mind and soul, as the Team believes stress relieving fitness breaks and anxiety reducers are an integral part of student coping strategies for the 21st century learner
• At Rideau High, the school’s Sources of Strength group ran a half-day with a focus on mental health that received very positive feedback from students and staff – students signed up for any of twelve different workshops on topics ranging from making healthy snacks to anger management to how to limit screen time to improve sleep

Celebrating successes and sharing stories
In addition to developing new health initiatives in their school communities, schools in the OCDSB COP recognize the importance of celebrating and sharing what has already been achieved as well as the successes that are to come:

• AY Jackson plans to celebrate successes on JTV, an in-school TV station, as well as in parent newsletters, the school website, and possibly the local paper
• Hawthorne will announce achievements by displaying them on the hallway TV and on a sign on the school’s front lawn, as well as on the website and in local papers
• Hawthorne students can receive a School Letter at the end of the year by earning points for nutrition, mental health (caring/citizenship), and physical activities throughout the year
• Kars on the Rideau will showcase physical education and healthy living initiatives in school and class newsletters, and also plans to invite media to cover the grand track opening
• Mary Honeywell plans to show progress towards healthy school goals in graphic charts and to share healthy living stories online via Twitter and a Google+ community
• Osgoode Township will celebrate with a school rally, social media announcements, a press release to the media, and recognition of individual student efforts and health achievements, as well as by sharing stories at the Metcalfe Farmers’ Market
• Rideau High will use social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, school website) to update the community on health initiatives and successes
• Rideau High will also hold an awards ceremony to celebrate achievements in competitive sport, as well as to recognize students participating in non-competitive physical activity
• Roch Carrier will share successes on school and parent council websites and a Google+ Community Page, and plans to honour and celebrate parent and community volunteers
• Roch Carrier will also celebrate at the annual “Roch 3” kindness and “Rochin Fun Family Night” events, and possibly at a new “kick off” event in the fall with students, parents, and teachers (e.g. barbeque or potluck luncheon)
• York Street plans to celebrate students’ everyday achievements (academic, sports, character) by displaying a “Humans of York Street” photo series (like the very popular “Humans of New York”), and may also reach out to local papers and reintroduce Student Recognition Assemblies

Conclusion
Healthy School Teams in the OCDSB COP have designed a wide variety of health promoting programs based on health data and the CSH Framework. Moving forward, continuing to work with other schools and community members will be an important avenue for building capacity.