School, Family and Community Support Online Learning

Summary

This educational video emphasizes the role of school, family, and community in fostering healthy active living among students. It features educators discussing the importance of modeling healthy behaviors, engaging community members, and maintaining open communication with families. The video also highlights the integration of health and physical education concepts across curricula to reinforce learning and the impact of school policies and programs on students' adoption of lifelong healthy practices.

Takeaways

• 🏫 School, family, and community support are crucial for effective health and physical education programs.
• 👨‍🏫 Teachers modeling healthy behaviors can significantly influence students' attitudes and participation.
• 🍎 Visual cues, like teachers eating healthy snacks, can encourage students to adopt similar habits.
• 👥 Modeling is a powerful teaching tool that applies to all subjects, not just physical education.
• 🏋️‍♂️ Active living should be demonstrated as enjoyable and fun to engage students.
• 📸 Sharing teachers' healthy lifestyles on social media can inspire students to follow suit.
• 👣 Whole-school events that promote active living, like staff pedometer challenges, can motivate students.
• 👵 Involving community members, such as elders, can bring diverse perspectives on health and well-being into the classroom.
• 🌐 Schools should view themselves as part of a larger community to enrich the educational experience.
• 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Encouraging family involvement in school activities helps reinforce the message of healthy active living.
• 🌟 Open communication with parents is key to extending the impact of health education at home.

Q & A

How do educators emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle in schools?

Educators emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle by modeling healthy behaviors, such as eating healthy and being active, and involving the community and families in school events that promote healthy living.

What role do teachers play in promoting healthy active living among students?

Teachers play a crucial role by modeling healthy behaviors, participating in school events, and encouraging students to adopt healthy practices, thus creating a positive influence on students.

Why is it important for students to see teachers engaging in healthy behaviors?

Seeing teachers engage in healthy behaviors helps students to buy-in and believe in the importance of those practices, as it demonstrates that the teachers genuinely live by the values they teach.

How can schools involve community members to support healthy active living for students?

Schools can involve community members by inviting them to participate in school events, such as career fairs or family fun nights, and by collaborating with local organizations to bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the school.

What is the significance of involving elders and community members from Northern Ontario in school activities?

Involving elders and community members from Northern Ontario can have a significant impact by providing cultural insights and traditional knowledge, which can enrich the educational experience and promote a sense of community.

How can schools create a community atmosphere that supports healthy active living?

Schools can create a community atmosphere by inviting parents and community service providers to participate in school activities, organizing events that promote healthy living, and fostering an environment where students see the message as a life message, not just a school message.

What strategies can educators use to facilitate open communication about healthy active living with parents and guardians?

Educators can facilitate open communication by proactively reaching out to parents, encouraging students to share classroom activities at home, and involving parents in school events to ensure they understand the importance of the topics being discussed.

Why is it beneficial for students to see concepts like mental health and well-being reflected in different subject areas?

Reflecting concepts like mental health and well-being across different subject areas helps reinforce the importance of these topics, making them more relatable and integrated into students' overall learning experience.

How can schools ensure that the message about healthy active living is not just a school message but a life message?

Schools can ensure that the message about healthy active living is a life message by involving community members, parents, and showcasing that teachers practice what they teach, thus making the message more holistic and applicable to students' lives outside of school.

What is the significance of students seeing the concepts they learn in health and physical education reflected in school policies and programs?

Seeing the concepts they learn reflected in school policies and programs reinforces the importance of healthy active living and increases the likelihood that students will adopt and maintain these practices throughout their lives.

How can educators use the diversity of their student population to promote healthy active living?

Educators can use the diversity of their student population by incorporating cultural and traditional activities into the curriculum, allowing students to share their backgrounds and experiences, which can enrich the learning environment and promote a broader understanding of healthy active living.

Outlines

00:00

🏫 School as a Model for Healthy Living

The first paragraph emphasizes the significance of a healthy school environment in fostering effective health and physical education programs. It highlights the role of teachers as role models for students, demonstrating healthy behaviors and lifestyle choices. Educators share insights on how their actions, such as eating healthily in front of students, can influence student attitudes towards healthy living. The narrative also touches on the impact of whole-school events that promote active living, like staff pedometer challenges, and the importance of community involvement in reinforcing healthy habits. The paragraph concludes with a call to action for educators to consider how they can collaborate with community members to encourage healthy active living among students.

05:01

🌟 Integrating Health and Active Living Across Curriculum

The second paragraph discusses the importance of integrating concepts of mental health and well-being across various subject areas to reinforce learning about healthy active living. It underscores the new curriculum's focus on mental health and suggests ways to incorporate these topics into classes like English by selecting relevant articles. The paragraph also stresses the value of cross-curricular reinforcement to create a comprehensive understanding of health and physical education. The narrative concludes with a reminder of the impact that seeing these concepts reflected in school policies and programs can have on students' likelihood to adopt and maintain healthy active living practices. The paragraph ends with a resource suggestion for additional support on the health and physical education curriculum.

Keywords

💡Health and physical education programs

These programs are integral to a school's curriculum, focusing on promoting health and physical well-being among students. In the video, it is emphasized that these programs are most effective when they are part of a larger, supportive ecosystem within the school and community. The script mentions that such programs should be delivered in healthy schools and supported by staff, families, and communities to ensure student learning is comprehensive and impactful.

💡Healthy schools

A healthy school is defined by an environment that encourages and supports the well-being of its students, staff, and community. In the context of the video, healthy schools are places where health and physical education are not just taught but also modeled through the actions of teachers and staff. The video script illustrates this concept by discussing how teachers modeling healthy behaviors, such as eating fruits or being active, can influence students positively.

💡Modeling

Modeling refers to the act of setting an example for others to follow. In the video, educators emphasize the power of modeling in teaching, not just in physical education but across all subjects. It is highlighted that when teachers model healthy behaviors, such as being active or making healthy food choices, students are more likely to adopt these behaviors, as seen in the script where teachers are encouraged to walk with an apple in hand or sit with students during meal times.

💡Community support

Community support involves the involvement and backing of local community members in school initiatives. The video underscores the importance of community support in reinforcing the principles taught in health and physical education. Examples from the script include involving elders or community members in classroom discussions about stress relief and mental health, or organizing events like family fun nights to foster a sense of community and shared values.

💡Active living

Active living refers to engaging in regular physical activity as part of one's daily routine. The video script discusses how educators model active living to inspire students, emphasizing the importance of being physically active for health benefits. It also mentions whole-school events that promote active living, such as staff pedometer challenges, to encourage both staff and students to adopt active lifestyles.

💡Mental health

Mental health is a significant aspect of overall well-being and is increasingly recognized as crucial in educational settings. The video script highlights the inclusion of mental health as a key component of the updated curriculum. Educators are encouraged to integrate discussions about mental health across different subjects, such as English, to normalize the conversation and provide students with a holistic understanding of health.

💡Cross-curricular

Cross-curricular teaching involves integrating concepts from one subject into another to provide a more comprehensive learning experience. The video script mentions the importance of reinforcing learning about healthy active living across different subject areas, such as relating mental health discussions to English class readings, to create a cohesive educational experience that reflects real-world applications.

💡Cultural activities

Cultural activities are practices or events that celebrate and educate about different cultures. In the video, it is mentioned that allowing for cultural and traditional activities in the classroom, such as inviting an elder to discuss the medicine wheel, enriches the learning experience by making it more relevant and inclusive. This approach helps students connect their cultural backgrounds with the broader themes of health and well-being.

💡Open communication

Open communication refers to the free and transparent exchange of information between all parties involved. The video script stresses the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between educators, students, and families to ensure that everyone is aligned with the school's health and physical education goals. This is exemplified in the script by encouraging students to share classroom activities with their parents and by schools reaching out to families to clarify the relevance of the curriculum to life skills.

💡Co-learning

Co-learning is an educational approach where learners of different backgrounds and expertise levels engage in a collaborative learning process. The video script provides an example of co-learning where students are tasked with teaching a game from their cultural background to their class, thus sharing knowledge and learning from one another. This approach not only fosters a sense of community but also helps in embracing diversity and promoting a broader understanding of health and physical education.

Highlights

Health and physical education programs are most effective in healthy schools with support from staff, families, and communities.

Educators share how school, family, and community support come to life in various settings.

Modeling healthy behaviors by teachers is crucial for creating a safe and healthy school community.

When teachers model healthy choices, students are more likely to adopt them.

Modeling is powerful in teaching, not just in physical education but across all subjects.

Educators emphasize the importance of living a healthy active life outside the classroom.

Whole-school events that promote healthy active living also involve staff to set positive examples.

Community partners play a significant role in motivating students to achieve their full potential.

Involving elders and community members can have a profound impact on students' learning.

Schools should bring community members into the building to reinforce the message of healthy active living.

Cultural and traditional activities can be integrated into the classroom to promote mental health and stress relief.

School committees involving various stakeholders can promote healthy eating and education.

Encouraging conversations about healthy active living at home is essential for student learning.

Students can teach their classmates and teachers games from their cultural backgrounds, fostering diversity and co-learning.

Mental health is a significant part of the new curriculum, and it should be integrated across subject areas.

Health and physical education concepts should be reflected in school policies and programs to reinforce learning.

For additional support on the health and physical education curriculum, visit teachingtools.ophea.net.

Transcripts

(MUSIC)

NARRATOR: Health and physical education programs are most effective

when they are delivered in healthy schools

and when student learning is supported by staff, families and communities.

In this segment, you will have a chance

to think deeply about the importance of school, family and community support

as you implement the updated curriculum.

We will explore this principle and hear from educators

who will share how this comes to life in their classrooms,

gyms and outdoors with family and in the community.

EDUCATOR: I think it starts early in the year it’s modeling.

It’s a safe and healthy school community,

it’s teachers modeling the lifestyle choices and the health literacy pieces.

EDUCATOR: If the kids see the teachers walking down the hall

with an apple in their hand,

or sitting down at a table to eat with them,

there's more buy-in and there’s more belief.

It’s not me saying to you -

it’s us doing it together.

EDUCATOR: In teaching, modeling is so powerful -

no matter what you're teaching.

So if it’s math, modeling how to do something.

If it’s language, modeling how to write something.

If it’s active living, modeling being active.

So modeling that, moving around and enjoying it and having fun.

EDUCATOR: If I can show them that, you know,

continuing to live a healthy active life outside the classroom

and share that, not only with my students,

but with, I guess, the world through social media.

It’s important for them to see how we can continue that.

They really connect to that and understand that,

‘Wow he really is invested

he’s interested in what he teaches because he lives this way as well.’

EDUCATOR: Whenever we run whole-school events

that promote healthy active living,

we also do that with our staff.

We have our annual staff pedometer challenge.

Each staff has a pedometer and we're trying to promote staff

to walk, to be positive role models.

Most important they see what they did to get those steps in,

so some teachers wrote they were gardening,

they were walking their dog,

they were playing baseball.

And I think it’s really motivating for our students and our school community

to see that our teachers are also practicing the healthy active lifestyle.

NARRATION: Students also see examples of healthy active living

when the school works with community partners as allies,

in order to motivate students to achieve their full potential.

EDUCATOR: Through my experience in Northern Ontario,

I’ve seen the impact it can have when elders

or community members get involved.

EDUCATOR: As a school we call ourselves a community but were part of, you know,

a local community, a global community

and it's so important to bring that into our school.

Whether it’s - we do a career fair or bringing, you know, past alumni in.

EDUCATOR: As a school we really try

and bring community people into the building as well so that kids,

again, are getting the message not just from us as teachers

but from parents and from community services providers.

So that might mean having, for example, high ropes courses

come into the gym or parents come in for family fun nights

and really trying to establish a community atmosphere

where kids understand that it's not just a school message,

it’s a life message.

NARRATION: Before moving on, let’s take a moment to pause and ponder.

What are some ways you could work together with community members

to promote healthy active living for students?

Let’s look at some examples.

EDUCATOR: So at our school, and in my classroom in particular,

we allow for cultural and traditional activities to be held.

So for example, one time in my classroom we were learning about ways

to relieve stress and how to recognize mental health challenges

and I invited an elder from the community

to come into our class and talk about the medicine wheel.

EDUCATOR: So we have a school committee

that involves teachers, students myself the local health unit dietician.

It's all around healthy eating promoting educating,

giving kids an opportunity to eat healthy

that wouldn’t normally be able to do that.

NARRATOR: Encouraging conversations about healthy active living at home

allows students to extend their learning

and shows their commitment to lead healthy, active and productive lives.

EDUCATOR: I think to ensure

that there is a healthy line of communication,

an open line of communication, with not only the students

but also their families, really stems from proactive communication.

So students to communicate with their parents

about what is going on in the classroom

but also communication from myself or from the school, home,

so that they understand what it is

that we are going to be talking about especially that the information

we’re presenting them isn’t just about the particular topic,

but it is touching on more life skills.

NARRATOR: Before moving on, let’s take a moment to pause and ponder.

What could you do in order

to facilitate open and two-way communication

with parents and guardians at home?

Let’s look at an example that had deep personal relevance for students,

embraced the school’s diversity

and presented an opportunity for co-learning.

EDUCATOR: Opening the conversation at home is so important.

Their project was to understand -

or come back to our class and teach a game

that their parents enjoyed as a child.

Having a population that’s diverse like ours,

we have so many different cultural backgrounds, it was really exciting.

And then they have a sense of that value of I’m teaching my classroom -

I’m teaching my teacher - a game

that he didn’t know about and I learned it from my parents

and now it’s a bit of a tradition that’s going on.

NARRATOR: It’s also important that students

can see concepts like mental health

and well being reflected in cross-curricular subject areas

to reinforce learning about healthy active living.

EDUCATOR: Big piece of the new curriculum is mental health.

So if you're doing a Grade 9 English,

you're reading articles in a newspaper or articles in a magazine -

can we choose articles

that deal with mental health so its talked about in that classroom?

Can I relate it to the English class?

So it’s not just coming to the kids from health,

whether it's mental health or healthy eating or sexuality,

it's not coming from one angle and again then reinforce it.

EDUCATOR: It just makes it that big picture, that real world,

you know, impli -- you know,

scenario of how phys ed works and health and physical activity

it’s - it’s everywhere,

it doesn’t matter what you speak,

what, you know, what you do at home or what, you know,

what you believe in.

We all - we all, can play. (MUSIC)

NARRATOR: When students see the concepts

they are learning in health and physical education

reflected and reinforced through healthy school policies and programs,

students are more likely to adopt healthy active living practices

and maintain them throughout their lives.

For additional support regarding the health

and physical education curriculum, visit teachingtools.ophea.net