WHAT WE HEARDHealthy Students / Healthy Schools

APRIL 13 - 15 2012

FOURTH ANNUAL

SPEAK OUT CONFERENCE

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HEALTHY STUDENTS / HEALTHY SCHOOLS

Background During the fourth Annual Speak Out Conference, a workshop called Healthy Students / Healthy

Schools gave students an opportunity to speak out on three priority areas of health in education:

physical activity, healthy eating and positive social environment. Participants were challenged to

provide input on what schools should offer to help students develop healthy lifelong behaviours.

According to Statistics Canada,1 the percentage of Canadian children and adolescents who are

overweight or obese has climbed considerably over the past 25 years. In 2004, 26 per cent of

children and adolescents aged two to 17 were overweight or obese based on body mass index

(BMI). This marks a 70 per cent increase compared with the 1978–1979 levels. While BMI on its

own is not an entirely accurate measure, it is a strong gauge of where we are as a culture and

where we are going. It is widely understood that obesity can lead to diabetes, hypertension,

heart disease and other issues. But what’s equally important and often overlooked is that

obesity can also cause children to struggle with social acceptance, depression, bullying, body

image and self-esteem.

It is internationally recognized that the school setting provides a unique opportunity to

significantly and positively influence students and provide access to regular physical activity and

healthy eating choices. The Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop was developed as an

extension of two key initiatives in Alberta Education: the Framework for Kindergarten to Grade

12 Wellness Education2 and the Framework for Student Learning: Competencies for Engaged

Thinkers and Ethical Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit.3

The Framework for Kindergarten to Grade 12 Wellness Education (left) allows for a

focus on wellness education that “nurtures the whole child and enhances students'

capacity for achieving their full potential—intellectually, physically, socially, spiritually

and emotionally.”

1 http://www41.statcan.gc.ca/2006/2966/ceb2966_004-eng.htm – “Childhood Obesity: A Troubling Situation”

2 http://education.alberta.ca/teachers/program/wellness-education.aspx

3 http://education.alberta.ca/department/ipr/curriculum/framework.aspx

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The Framework for Student Learning: Competencies for Engaged Thinkers and Ethical

Citizens with an Entrepreneurial Spirit (right) describes a future in education that

acknowledges the need for competencies, including well-being, to be more central in the

education of Alberta’s young people in the 21st century.

The Framework for Student Learning identifies well-being as a competency that needs to be

infused across all subject areas. This is a key driver for promoting healthy school environments

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and student wellness. The workshop was designed and facilitated by representatives from

Alberta Education and the Minister’s Student Advisory Council (the Council):

Jeff Bath –Curriculum Manager, Wellness Education, Alberta Education

Gail Diachuk – School Health and Wellness Manager, Alberta Education / Alberta Health

and Wellness

Brian Torrance – Ever Active Schools

Elizabeth Coldbeck – Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund

Jodi Harding – Health and Physical Education Council of the Alberta Teachers’

Association

Tyson S. – Member of the Council

Erin A. – Member of the Council

Beth L. – Member of the Council

Joel H. – Member of the Council

Executive Summary It’s not enough for today’s schools only to provide physical education and health classes and

assume that education is meeting the needs of society. Healthy Students /

Healthy Schools focused on three key priorities: physical activity, healthy eating

and positive social environment. Creating healthy school environments and

curriculum that focuses on the attitudes, skills and knowledge for a healthy,

active lifestyle, will support students in making healthy choices. To accomplish

this, health needs to be tied to daily student life, and students need to want it and be involved

and interested in it—they need to develop their own healthy lifestyles.

The interactive Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop allowed students to provide input

on how Alberta Education can promote wellness in schools. Students were encouraged to

respond to four key questions:

1. Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?

2. What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy

behaviours?

3. How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all

students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?

4. Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?

Following the workshop, a theme analysis of the responses revealed that in general, healthy

students feel healthy inside and out, have the confidence to succeed, have the support to make

healthy choices and have the attitude, skills and knowledge to be successful after high school.

Other key findings include the following:

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Lifestyle choices start in the home. Students learn from their parents first; if parents

are overweight and don’t do any physical activity, then their children think this is an

acceptable lifestyle that they should also follow. Today’s parents need to be

committed to their own healthy living and work together with their kids to live healthy

lifestyles.

Once children arrive in the education system, healthy behaviours need to be a focus

of learning from their first day of kindergarten through to the end of their school

years. While healthy habits begin at home, the school’s healthy learning environment

will also influence the development of healthy habits.

Students need to understand what is and what is not “healthy,” but more importantly,

they need to be willing to research what really is best for them and make their own

healthy choices. Teaching topics and content that are “real life” and relevant to

students’ needs is also vital. By combining guidance from parents and teachers with

their own informed decisions, students are more likely to build their own healthy

living habits.

Summary of Responses

1. Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?

In general, students rely on a host of influences to help them make healthy

lifestyle choices. The most common responses to this question include the

following:

Family (particularly parents): In addition to being students’ biggest fans,

family are the people who students spend most of their time with. Family

members, particularly parents, want the best for their children, so they

support and encourage them and lead by setting healthy lifestyle

examples. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o They are positive role models who provide positive reinforcement

o Grocery shopping and cooking together to understand healthy foods and healthy

choices

o Exercising together to create good lifestyle habits

o Grandparents – longevity – good examples of health and still active

o Siblings are role models

o My dad makes sure we only eat whole grains and plans meals around the food

groups. He always cooks so we didn’t eat out when I was young so it isn’t a

habit. He works out 3 times a week. He leads by example

o They are the key to good and bad habits

Self: Only individuals can make decisions for themselves about healthy lifestyle choices,

and only they experience a direct impact from those choices. Examples of student

answers were as follows:

o You see your own results

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o You create your own personal goals and you are the one who gets satisfaction

from meeting them

o Reaching a personal goal makes you want to go farther and help others reach

their goals for health

o Personal gain – you want to encourage others to live healthy

o You have to be responsible for motivating yourself to make good choices

o You benefit from the good choices that you make and you receive the

satisfaction

o You want to avoid making the mistakes others make

o I live healthy for my own sake

Friends: Students spend a lot of time with their friends and often have close, positive

relationships with them. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Good friends provide positive peer pressure, if they are healthy you should be

too

o They are encouraging and help motivate you

o They provide healthy competition

o Friends inspire by example

o Friends peer pressure/competition to keep up in school or sports

o You work together to accomplish goals

o They know how to help get the best out of you (or worst)

o You begin to act like people around you, if they are good people then you will

improve from being around them

Teachers and/or principals: In general, teachers care about the choices

their students are faced with and have the ability to lead by example.

Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Students trust them due to their responsibility and life experience

o They provide empowerment with support

o Good teachers help raise self-esteem and motivate

o Good teachers care

o My teachers have influenced me to leading a better life by encouraging

me to do things I normally wouldn’t

o They bring health into the classroom

o They set examples and lead by them

o Lead by example and should show you the way; and

o They have the accessibility to encourage students to set goals and are available

on a daily basis to help them achieve those goals

Media: It is easy for media to visually demonstrate what a healthy lifestyle (or unhealthy

lifestyle) looks like by portraying the lives of celebrity role models, including professional

athletes and television personalities. Students also noted that it is necessary to be able

to decipher between the positive and negative media around health. Examples of

student answers were as follows:

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o Good media helps you feel accepted and provides good role models

o The negative side of media is that they typically do not portray good healthy role

models

o Can be negative and that promotes you to do more

o Can be positive and influence us to take part

o Powerful women (like Oprah, Michelle Obama and Ellen)

o Health magazines

o Witnessing the results of healthy and unhealthy lifestyles

o Pro athletes are presented as positive healthy role models

o The key is that when students see negative examples they need to understand

how to filter and block those messages

Coaches: Team coaches support students by encouraging healthy lifestyles in a variety

of ways, not just physical. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o They provide encouragement and support

o Encourage healthy lifestyles as a necessity for successfully competing in sports

o To reach best ability, physically and mentally fit, help guide us

o Promotes healthy eating

o Coaches encourage health in many aspects, they hold authority

o They participate and are active

o They make health accessible

Other responses to Question 1 include:

Peers: They often provide encouragement and support and act as role models

themselves

Teammates: They want to see you compete at your best level

Student leadership groups: It’s often their role to act as role models and help others

Other school influences(e.g. breakfast program and health and physical education

classes): They teach you about healthy choices when it comes to diet and exercise

Counsellors at summer camp: They made being healthy fun AND easy!

Younger children: Students feel they need to become a role model for them

Religious figures and leaders (of all denominations): It is their job to promote healthy

living, from a mental perspective

Other external influences: This included health care

professionals, a mixed martial arts instructor, and government

initiatives like Health Canada. Note: No explanation given for

these.

2. What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy behaviours?

A number of main themes emerged from students’ responses to this question. According to

them, the best ways for students to learn to develop lifelong healthy behaviours include the

following:

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Starting at home: Students felt it was important for families, particularly parents or

guardians, to encourage healthy behaviours at home on a regular basis and from the

time children are young. Parents should lead by positive examples and by making

healthy choices for themselves. Doing so sets the tone for students’ lifelong healthy

living at home and beyond. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Need to encourage families to be active – exercise together, even if it’s just a 15

minute walk together it helps build a healthy family both mentally and physically

o At home your parents get the food, it’s their job to buy food that is healthy and

parents should be responsible for developing lifelong healthy living in their

children

o Parents need to focus on providing healthy environments

o What they provide to young children is what children grow up knowing and doing

to others

Home should be providing healthy meals and no junk food

o Parents/any adults – could and make healthy choices for you. If you’re young

then you don’t have to change healthy habits. You learn from positive and

negative choices your parents make

School influence: Second to their homes, students spend most of their time at school.

Students felt that their schools play a large role in teaching how to develop lifelong

healthy behaviours. They can do so by providing more healthy food choices, ensuring all

classes (not just health and physical education) spend more time integrating healthy

lessons, increasing physical activity and providing more access to health-based

resources. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Healthy food choices:

Healthy choices in schools should be less expensive than the heavy

foods like fries and pasta to encourage students to choose the healthy

options

Breakfast program where the school would provide students with free

healthy breakfasts (side benefit, this would encourage students to arrive

on time for classes)

My school got rid of junk food at the machines and replaced with healthy

food. This forces students to quit eating junk during the day. This has led

to calmer classes

o Class focus:

Health classes where they could learn the

negative effects of junk food

Food programs (nutrition, healthy cooking, etc.)

Mandatory health classes (that involve more than

just fitness but include healthy eating, mental

health, etc)

Having classes mix in random five minute health

breaks

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Offer non-standard classes in schools like yoga, martial arts, Pilates,

cooking, etc

o Increased activity:

Making kids/students more active and hands on within the school (gym,

projects, etc.)

Opportunities to be active

Give students a chance to ‘speak out’

Active living focus in school where students have time in the day to be

active and are encouraged to be

Encourage daily physical activity

Physical environment within the school that doesn’t just focus on sports or

PE but provides different types of activities

o More access to resources:

Promote healthy behaviours by bringing in an expert to teach students

(and teachers) how to develop lifelong healthy behaviours

Need access to equipment

Better facilities

Access to more resources like calorie counters and pedometers

Availability of resources to influence what we eat and how to be healthy

Access to resources – trainers, health providers (mental and physical),

chefs, etc

Developing routines/habits: Students indicated another way to learn, and maintain,

healthy lifelong behaviours is to start making continual, healthy choices at a young age

so it becomes routine. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Do activities in groups and encourage individually to develop routines as a way to

feel better

o Start young – habits are easy to form at a young age and hard to break once

they become habits

o Start learning about healthy choices at a younger age to encourage long-term

healthy habits

o At school, Make it a habit and develop a support system to encourage that habit

o Teaching students at a younger age about healthy behaviours

Lunch programs (healthy snacks, healthy foods,

etc)

Positive role models/reinforcement: Students also indicated

that learning healthy lifelong behaviours is easier when they are

receiving support from positive role models, such as teachers or

other mentors, as well receiving as positive reinforcement from

everyone else. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Role models and positive encouragement to be healthy

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Teachers, friends, coaches, etc. showing positive healthy behaviours

o Having people available who can inspire and help you make changes and

answer questions

o Increase social action and social interaction (parent/mentor to child, students to

students)

o Immerse yourself around healthy people who have healthy relationships

o Active teachers make active students

o Positive reinforcement, don’t force people to be healthy, if you force them then

they will not practice it, it must be a choice and one that is positively reinforce

o Having the support and encouragement needed to make an individual try to go

out of their comfort zone and give it a try, trying to be healthy and physically

active

o Healthy environments with a “you can do it!” praise

o Happy people make you happy and positive friends make you have a positive

attitude

Having fun: Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be a chore or a burden. Students

said that the more fun that can be integrated into healthy activities, the easier those

activities seem. Examples of student answers were as follows:

o Make hands on, fun activities and make the health education memorable

o Fun means there’s less pressure to perform and students enjoy it better which

means they want to be there

o Run creative and fun school clubs

o Have fun! –if students like it and have fun they will do it again

o Making kids/students more active and hands on within the school (gym, projects,

etc.)

o Fun focus instead of competition focus in PE classes

3. How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all

students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?

A number of main themes emerged from the collection of student responses to this question, all

of which tied into students’ desire for greater diversity and more available options within their

health and physical education programs. The main themes, accompanied by examples of

students’ comments, were as follows:

Personalization/customization:

o Individualized planning both physical activity and nutritional. Ex: half marathon

training and nutritional plan

o Individualize ‘healthy’ – develop a frame for ‘healthy’

o Make it so programs can be personalized to each student but still make it so they

can work as a class

o create individual personal health plans that help students learn what to eat and

what type of activities they like to participate in

o Timetabled for individual preferences

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o PE needs to meet the individual needs of students

o If there were choices to different types of physical activity that allowed students

to get involved in activities they liked it would encourage them to do more

Less focus on standardized sports:

o All schools should have mandatory physical ‘activity’ programs but with options.

Not all students want sports, need to talk to students who don’t like sports and

ask what they would prefer. Ideas like yoga, aerobics, rock climbing, cycling,

hiking, etc. but focus should be mandatory physical activity of some type.

o Health competitions that encompass all aspects of health, not just sports

o More self-directed PE where students choose: possibly one teacher focuses on

sports, one does weight training, another focuses on pool, one does hikes,

maybe students pay extra and do skating and pool classes instead of grass

hockey or basketball, etc. allow students to choose what they prefer

o Give students options ‘sports gym classes’ or ‘active gym classes’

o Provide a variety of options in games, sports and activities rather than setting up

for one or two sports only

o Combine gym and health together and make it mandatory but provide options for

kids who don’t want to do sports

Introduce new/unique activities:

o Have an option class with things like zen, yoga, healthy choices, meal plans, how

food impacts our environment, go camping and learn not to be watching TV all

day, every day, focus on getting out of the house and exercising

o Consider alternative ways of earning gym credits

o More variety in gym class… every year we do volleyball, basketball, badminton,

running. Add variety!! Like mountain biking, hiking, climbing, etc. – make it fu

o Teach things that can easily be integrated into everyday life like walking, bike

riding, healthy cooking, etc. focus on healthy diet and healthy activity

o Do what the kids want to do. Try new things! (ex. dance/zumba, etc)

o Field trips and fun activities that are more hands on and different

Greater focus on nutrition and diet:

o Teaching how to eat, prepare and shop for healthy foods

o Schools should provide before school, morning meals at the school that:

have a ticket system where teachers and students are seated randomly

so that cliques don’t form and students and teachers eat together

have students help prepare the food to allow them to learn how to cook

healthy food choices

are provided to students and teachers free

use healthy food choices

o Treat healthy foods as ‘fun’ options. Don’t make them look scary or like a choice

o A healthy cafeteria and vending machines

o Demonstrated examples of healthy choices (ex. cooking classes)

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o Provide students with healthy nutrition plans created by a nutrition specialist

specifically for each student. The nutritionist would also explain the impacts of

bad choices

o Pair older students with younger ones for cooking classes where they have to

create healthy meals. This will allow older students to teach the younger ones

and feel more accomplishment

o A breakfast program

o Make healthy choices cheaper and easier access

Greater focus on fun:

o Having fun needs to be a bigger focus

o Make activities fun with less pressure to perform

o Implement year-round sports which would focus on less competition and more

fun and stress management

o There should be more focus on fun in classes—, it keeps

students engaged and also lowers stress levels

o Include everyone and make it fun

o Making healthy lifestyles sound ‘fun’ and then promote it within

the school

o Make games more fun (like hide and see outside and tag, etc)

o Emphasise and promote healthy lifestyles within the school and

make it sound fun

o Make mandatory classes seem less ‘mandatory’

Greater focus on mental health:

o Promote physical and mental health

o Explore emotional aspect of health education

o Encourage/teach students and staff to talk to a school counsellor about

personal/mental issues to ensure they aren’t keeping things bottled up. Key is

that this MUST be confidential or it will fail

o Promote awareness by demonstrating real life consequences of what happens

when people do not pursue a healthy lifestyle. Bring in people or watch videos to

show the effects of different physical and mental health issues and how choices

when young impact the future. Bring in celebrity speakers

o Stress should be talked about more

o More programs should focus on stress management

4. Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?

Student responses illustrated a number of benefits to integrating nurses into schools, but the

question also led to some debate around whether a nurse is required and, if so, whether full

time or part time. Examples of thoughts provided by students on having a nurse in the school

included:

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Yes—full time:

o Students must be aware of their health internally and may not have accessibility

to confidential support or feel comfortable discussing

it. A nurse could provide that confidential assistance

that some families are missing

o Nurses should definitely be in schools so that they

would have a person to go to for help with questions

they can’t ask anyone else. But they should not be

brought in to replace counsellors. They should be a

team working together to promote healthy living (mentally, physically and diet)

o They could work with the cafeteria meal service to make sure the cafeteria food

is healthy

o Yes, I like the idea of them being available for not only injuries but also to answer

health and wellness questions that students have. For some students it would be

nice to have the option for them to ask questions than to guess and perhaps be

unsafe. A nurse can give them accurate advice and information

Yes—part time:

o It would be beneficial a couple times a week and during those days have them

teach health classes

They could work with the counsellor to help students be healthy

o Yes nurses should be involved in schooling part-time

There are issues that youth may not want to talk about with others

Sometimes support at home does not offer much advice on health.

Parents are at work all day and sometimes they just can’t get the time to

help their child who is sick at school. Some parents don’t have the ability

to leave work to take their child to the doctor or bring them home

Also, students need to be aware of, and responsible for their own health.

A nurse can help them understand what that means

o I think they only need to be there if we have to get shots or for delivering ‘health’

presentations. They should also be there a few days a month to answer student

questions

o Yes! Integrate nurses (potentially part-time) into classes for educating students

like CALM

o A few nurses could check in on students and make sure they are doing ok,

provide health presentations, give shots, give medications, and so forth

o This will promote access to health services for both teachers and students

o It would be beneficial a couple times a week and during those days have them

teach health classes

They could work with the counsellor to help students be healthy

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Most of the arguments against having a nurse in schools were based on students’ lack of a

clear understanding of what a nurse would provide. Examples of student comments were as

follows:

No

o I think it isn’t necessary. If the injury is super bad you can just go to the hospital

so the nurse would just be sitting around

o Not sure what they would be used for

o Building trust takes time and they are limited in how many students they can

reach on a daily basis

o Not necessarily a nurse, it should be someone who students can relate to if they

are undergoing any personal issues that they can get advice from. For example,

not many students will go to the school nurse to get a prescription, that would be

a family doctor

o Counsellors could be trained in first aid to do a nurse’s job

o Not many serious injuries at my school

o I don’t think we should because at our school we have a sports medic who is

basically a nurse and helpful in other situations as well

o We have numerous resources elsewhere such as counsellors and physical

teachers so I don’t think it’s necessary. Some schools already offer health as part

of gym so we learn about stuff like having healthy lifestyles

o The focus of health education at school should be more about prevention rather

than treatment

o It would depend on whether any teachers or the counsellor are certified or not, if

some teachers were properly certified it would not be required

Because the answers to this question indicated that students weren’t clear about what a nurse

would do for them, if nurses were brought into schools, their role and job duties would have to

be clearly defined. A key consideration was that kids need support 24/7 as their needs don’t

stop at the end of the school day.

General considerations for having nurses in schools:

o A nurse would need to be approachable, friendly and build rapport with all

students

o Their role would need to be to talk to all students who are having health issues

(physical and mental) and help them find solutions

o They need to be trained in physical and mental health so that they can help with

both physical and mental health issues

o Nurses and counsellors are NOT the same or interchangeable. Schools need

both and they both must be CONFIDENTIAL

o Nurses would need to have experience with youth, how to build relationships

between them and how to help them with their specific health concerns

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o A nurse needs to be a private and confidential resource that is able to work with

each student to develop personal health plans and help students achieve those

plans

o Nurses need to be entrenched in the student community

For information on how this summary was derived, please see Appendix 1 – Process.

Implementation

The student voice gathered in the Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshop will be used to

inform the development of wellness-related programs of study and models for delivering

wellness in high schools using a comprehensive school health approach that supports:

Cross-curricular links to wellness

Changes to social and physical environments to support students in making healthy

choices related to healthy eating, physical activity and positive social environments

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Appendix 1 – Process

Workshop Preparation and Overview In preparation for the workshop, tables were covered in brown paper to allow students to write

down their thoughts and ideas. Post-it notes, flipcharts, pens, pencils and felts were also

provided to allow them to capture key concepts and ideas to present to the rest of the room at

the end of each activity. In addition to being encouraged to doodle

or write to inspire creativity, each table was provided with teaching

tools that reflect stress management, healthy eating and active

living [copies of My Amazing Little Cookbook and Frisbees with

information on appropriate serving sizes from Alberta Health and

Wellness (www.healthyalberta.com), as well as a set of health-

focused stress balls from Ever Active Schools

(www.everactive.org)].

The same workshop ran twice, with different groups of students.

There were eight tables, and each table had one of four questions to answer:

1) Who has influenced you the most to lead a healthy lifestyle and why?

2) What is the best way for students to learn how to develop lifelong healthy behaviors?

3) How might health and physical education programs be delivered in schools so all

students develop healthy lifelong behaviours?

4) Would it be valuable to have a nurse in your school? Why or why not?

Each question was answered twice per workshop, and four separate activities allowed each

student to provide input for each of the four questions. In total, approximately 145 students

participated in the Healthy Students / Healthy Schools workshops. This workshop had one

facilitator at each table to ensure each student was encouraged to provide feedback for each

activity. The facilitators were prepared in advance and understood that their role as a neutral

facilitator was to keep their table on track and work with all participants to ensure everyone at

the table was heard and their voices honoured.

This workshop looked at two primary elements:

Curriculum: To help understand what wellness-related programs of studies need to be

incorporated into schools

Non-curriculum: To look at using a comprehensive school health approach to promote

student wellness

These two elements were combined to ensure that what is done in the curriculum is also done

in the school environment. The workshops were designed to gather information from students

on their perspectives, ideas, wants and needs for the inclusion of wellness in schools. The intent

was to focus on positive, healthy behaviours and to reduce the impact of unhealthy behaviours

on students now and in the future.

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The development of this workshop and its inclusion in Speak Out has been made possible

through the commitment and resources of a consortium of organizations, including Alberta

Education, Alberta Health and Wellness and representatives from Ever Active Schools, the

Healthy and Physical Education Council (HPEC) and the Alberta Healthy School Community

Wellness Fund.

Activities for the Workshop Jeff started the workshops by introducing the facilitators and briefly describing the workshop

process. He noted that wellness is important for both health and learning outcomes: while it is

important to battle the obesity epidemic happening across North America, it is equally important

to improve social problems, such as bullying and depression, which are also factors in student

health.

Jeff indicated that each group would have approximately 12 minutes to answer questions at

different tables and that they would rotate through the workshop. There would be an active

transition between questions, and by the end of the workshop, each student would answer all

four questions. Once all questions were answered a presenter from each table would present

the group’s conclusions.

Jeff then handed the floor to Erin, who presented a PowerPoint presentation about a student-

run awareness campaign called Celebrate Yourself. Erin and four friends started the campaign

to improve their school environment. Its motto was “our first and last love is … self-love,” and it

contained three components: bullying awareness, media influence and self-esteem. She

explained the core values of the campaign as well as how and why it affects students. Some of

the examples she provided were:

Bullies: Students who are bullied may become depressed, introverted, angry or quiet, or

they may hide all these emotions. The emotional impact of bullying can have a major

effect on a student’s academic progress in school and in life.

Media impacts: In North American culture, the pressure to be flawless can wear down a

teenager. In fact, it wears down many on a regular basis.

Self-esteem: The way people perceive themselves can have a major impact on how

they choose to live their lives. The teenage years are crucial for building positive and

healthy self-esteem.

Erin explained that students met with classes to conduct research, made the slide show

presentation, created the music and developed every aspect of the campaign. They then

presented it at the local Boston Pizza to explain to the community the impacts that these issues

have on students. She talked about how she was affected by these three factors through her life

and encouraged the Speak Out students to create similar programs in their

areas.

Following Erin’s presentation, Libby introduced the video Stories of Success:

Body, Mind and Spirit and some of the great success stories that have been

Fourth Annual Speak Out Conference | April 13-15, 2012

What We Heard

Page | 17

achieved. The video was created by the Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund and

was intended to show examples of how schools have used the Wellness Fund contributions to

implement creative health solutions for their students.

Following the video, the activities began. The process at each table included:

Reading the question aloud to the group and taking two minutes to think or brainstorm,

as well as reading the ideas of other members and writing their ideas on the paper

tablecloth or sticky notes

Discussing the question as a group for six or seven minutes, with the facilitator ensuring

that everyone had a chance to be heard

Using the remaining three or four minutes to give the table’s recorder time to capture the

main ideas from the conversation on the flipchart paper

Ending each activity with a fun, active transition led by Jeff, Erin or Tyson

o Jeff did the first transition, in which students had to high-five at least six people

they didn’t know on their way to their new table.

o Erin transitioned the group using “the ultimate rock, paper, scissors challenge.”

Each person in the room did one rock, paper, scissors battle, and the loser stood

behind the winner. By the end, there were two long lines of more than 30 people

each, and the leader of each line battled for the “rock, paper, scissors” bragging

rights.

o For the final transition, Tyson initiated “the hokey-pokey.” He started out singing

alone, and by the end of the song, almost the entire room was singing and

participating.

The flipcharts and tablecloths at each table stayed in place for each transition to allow the

second group to build on the ideas of the first, and so on, until all four teams had answered the

question at that table. While each team built on the answers from the previous team(s), all paper

that had been written on during the first workshop was removed before the second workshop to

ensure the participants were generating their own information.

Once all questions had been answered, a presenter from each group summarized the results

from all four teams who worked at that table. The results were clearly presented, and there were

several great ideas. As expected, although the information from the first morning workshop was

removed, the second workshop results were very similar in theme and content, showing that

students have similar wants and needs.

Jeff closed the workshop by saying, “It’s not just what you learn or what you put on the paper;

it’s also what you’re going to do with the ideas you heard today. What will you do after this

workshop to help improve your schools and your communities?” Jeff challenged them to take

what they learned and improve the lives of those around them.