Healthy Schools BC Newsletter

February 2015

Join the Healthy Schools BC Mailing List

Stay Connected to the Healthy Schools Movement in BC

There are plenty of ways to stay connected to the healthy schools movement! Follow DASH on social media for all your healthy schools news and happenings.

School Grant Opportunities

To check out the following grant opportunities and many more, visit the Healthy Schools BC website here.

BC Student Healthy Living Network

Deadline: Feb. 23, 2015

ViaSport Girls Only Grant

Deadline: Feb. 9, 2015

ViaSport Local Sport Program Development Fund

Deadline: Feb. 9, 2015

Healthy Schools BC Northern Connections Grant

Deadline: Feb 15, 2015

GoodLife Kids Foundation Grant Program

Deadline: Feb. 20, 2015

Toyota Evergreen School Ground Greening Grant

Deadline: Feb. 27, 2015

Healthy Schools Network Grants

Deadline: Mar. 1, 2015

Science World's BC Green Games

Deadline: Mar. 1, 2015

BCTF Social Justice Grant

Deadline: Apr. 15, 2015

RBC-Evergreen Watershed Champions Award

Deadline: Apr. 17, 2015

Artists in the Classroom Grant

Deadline: May 28, 2015

Action Schools! BC Healthy Eating School Food Grant

Ongoing

ParticipACTION Teen Challenge Grant

Ongoing

Breakfast Clubs of Canada

Ongoing

Computers for Schools BC

Ongoing

KidSport BC Program

Ongoing

McCreary Youth Action Grant

Ongoing

RBC After School Project Grants

Ongoing

Video of the Month:

Check out this fantastic event hosted by A. L. Fortune Secondary School last year! Students and staff organized a floor hockey event that promoted active living and school connectedness, AND raised over 200 pounds of food for the local food bank! Click here to read more.

Submitting an Article for the Newsletter

How would you like to promote your organization's message to members of the health and education sectors across BC? To learn how to submit an article for the Healthy Schools BC Newsletter, please visit the Healthy Schools BC website here for submission dates and guidelines.

About DASH BC

The Healthy Schools BC Newsletter is brought to you by DASH BC. Our vision is that ALL students are healthy, engaged, and connected at school.

We are a non-profit society that inspires our partners and stakeholders to improve the health and learning of students in BC by promoting, supporting and facilitating a healthy schools approach. Visit our website for more information.

We've moved! Please contact us at our new address:

DASH BC

#530-510 Burrard St.

Vancouver, BC

V6C 3A8

www.dashbc.ca

info@dashbc.ca

phone: 604-681-0600

fax: 604-681-0602

Featured Articles

Support Anti-Bullying by Wearing Pink on Feb. 25th

DASH takes a look at anti-bullying resources for BC schools

February 25th is Pink Shirt Day, in support of the anti-bullying movement. We have put together a list of anti-bullying and positive mental health resources that can be incorporated into curriculum and after-school activities to help your school eliminate bullying. Click here to read more!

Attention Teachers: Take a Survey and Win!

Healthy Schools BC survey offers chance to win iPad Minis

The Healthy Schools BC initiative is being evaluated and we're asking educators and administrators for their perspective on Healthy Schools BC. By completing a brief, confidential survey here, you'll be entered in a draw for a chance to win one of three iPad Minis. Winners to be announced in March! The survey will close on Feb 20. Please click here to see the summary report from the first year of the Healthy Schools BC evaluation.

Apply for a Healthy Living Grant by March 1st!

Grants are available through the Healthy Schools Network

Healthy Living Grants are available until March 1st, 2015 (or until funds run out)! These grants are intended to support health and learning improvements in students, while engaging them in the process. There are two Healthy Living Grants available through the Healthy Schools Network:

The $500 Healthy Living Activity Grant
The $750 Healthy Living Inquiry Grant

If you would like support in applying for a grant, or have any questions, please contact us at hsn@dashbc.ca.

DASH Update

Join the BC Student Healthy Living Network!

Application deadline extended to Feb 23rd

The BC Student Healthy Living Network (or "Network") is an exciting opportunity for students to lead healthy schools initiatives and projects in their school community. As part of the Network, students can receive grants to support healthy school projects, connect with other youth from all over BC, access available resources and tools, and receive supportive adult mentorship. The application deadline to join the Network has been extended to Feb 23rd! Click here to learn more about the Network and apply.

New Healthy Schools BC Action Guides

Evidence-based practices and promising innovations for healthy schools

Are you planning a healthy living activity at your school? Use the Healthy Schools BC Action Guides to support your work! The Action Guides share evidence-based practices and promising innovations that are showing results in creating healthy schools in BC. These practices and innovations target different topic areas, including school connectedness, healthy eating, physical activity, and injury prevention. Click here to check them out!

School Connectedness

Creating Trusting and Caring Relationships

One of the six strategies for fostering school connectedness

In last month's newsletter, we discussed six strategies for fostering school connectedness. One of these strategies is the creation of strong, caring relationships at school. For many of us, relationships are often the first things that come to mind when we think about school connectedness. We think about our favourite teacher, or the students who have a special place in our heart. While forging these strong, positive relationships between students and educators is essential for school connectedness, they are not the only relationships that we need to cultivate. Click here to read more.

Healthy Schools Stories

Empathy and the Environment

Creating personal connections at Cinnibar Elementary

At Cinnabar Valley Elementary, the Kindergarten students participated in an empathy project where they explored their school habitat and cultivated personal connections with their environment, in order to improve care for school grounds, classrooms, animals, and peers. Click here to read more about this fantastic project!

Teacher Resources

Promoting Positive Body Image

National Eating Disorder Awareness Week Feb. 1-7

The Provincial Eating Disorders Awareness (PEDAW) campaign is running several activities during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (Feb. 1st-7th, 2015) to promote positive body image, including a Wristband Challenge, and Purple for PEDAW. PEDAW even has resources available to help you plan your own event. Click here to read more!

Check Out What's Happening with Action Schools! BC

Teacher Workshops and Healthy Eating School Food Grants

Check out Action Schools! BC's teacher workshops available at no cost to BC K to 7 and middle schools, and book a Healthy Eating Workshop to be eligible for the Healthy Eating School Food Grant! Click here to read more.

Celebrate Heart Month with Your Students!

Giving students the healthiest valentine: HeartSmart Kids™

This February, teach heart health with FREE curriculum resources from the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Educators can use the resources to creatively teach heart facts and health, enhance a Valentine's Day theme, and motivate students to live a healthy lifestyle in a fun way.

To learn how to bring the HeartSmart Kids™ program to your class, click here.

Please note: Amazing updated print resources are being created for our 20th anniversary year in September, so that means our current resources will only be available online after this school year (or until they're all gone). We encourage you to stock up now on limited booklets!

Have Your Say on Student Wellbeing!

The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is looking for your input

The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation is designing a new child and youth initiative focused on wellbeing in schools. Students, parents, teachers, and administrators are encouraged to complete an anonymous 20 minute survey here by February 15, 2014.

This survey will provide essential input to the design of a robust initiative, including what schools are doing now, what they could be doing better/differently, and who needs to be engaged and how. If you would like to be kept informed and engaged in other ways, sign up for their newsletter using the link at the end of the survey.