Live Life Well @ School

(LLW@S) spans across a

number of elements of the

School Excellence Frame-

work, along with the Well-

being Framework for

schools. You can use many

aspects as evidence if you

are undergoing External

Validation.

Here are some examples

for your school to consider:

-Action Plans: in collabora-

tion with Northern NSW

Health Promotion, our

school’s LLW@S team cre-

ates action plans every 12-

24 months that reflect our

ongoing commitment to

supporting students well-

being. These ensure that

we embed LLW@S practic-

es within our curriculum,

school community and

school culture.

-Professional Learning: staff

regularly engage in relevant

professional learning. E.g

you may wish to elaborate on

include the LLW@s online

professional learning mod-

ules, iPLAY, Nutrition, Physi-

cal Activity & their impact on

Academic Performance &

Classroom Outcomes staff

sessions, familiarization with

the updated PDHPE Curricu-

lum, attendance at Nutrition &

Physical Activity Confer-

ences, or Stephanie Alexan-

der Program Training.

-Crunch & Sip: we participate

in Crunch & Sip daily. Every

child has the opportunity to

eat a piece of fruit or vegeta-

ble, and drink water. Those

who don’t have Crunch & Sip

packed in their lunchbox, are

provided a seasonal fruit or

vegetable snack from our

school garden. We also par-

ticipate in the statewide cam-

paigns of “The Big Crunch”

and “Fruit & Veg Month”

each year to provide further

opportunities for our students

to create healthy eating be-

haviors.

-Healthy School Canteen: We

are officially operating a

“GREAT CHOICE Healthy

School Canteen’. Our canteen

manager / volunteers have

attended local workshops to

support this transition, and

have developed a partner-

ship with Health Promotion to

submit relevant menu check

documentation. Our canteen

has successfully transitioned

to the revised Health School

Canteen Strategy.

The above evidence can help

demonstrate your school’s

commitment to nurturing a

whole of school approach to

the wellbeing of your stu-

dents

School Nutrition Policies & Progams Work!

What’s coming

up?

Screen Free Week, 29

Apr—5 May

Mother’s Day, 12 May

Walk Safely to School Day,

17 May

Exercise Right Week, 21-

28 May

NAIDOC Week, 7-14 July

NUPA Nutrition & Physical Activity in Primary Schools

Term 2, 2019

LLW@S External Vali-

dation

1

School Nutrition Poli-

cies

1

Coming Up 1

School Active Travel

Plan

2

Yalunga Games Work-

shops

2

Eat the Rainbow 3

Mothers Day 3

Book Nook 3

Go4Fun 4

It’s Exercise Time 4

Veggie Gardening 4

Contacts List 4

Inside this issue:

EXTERNAL VALIDATION

1

A recent study by the Yale School of Public Health has found

the positive effects of implementing & maintaining school nu-

trition policies & programs like Live Life Well @ School

It has found that implementing nutrition policies at primary

schools limited unhealthy weight gains in students & that the

effect was strongest in children who started at a healthy

weight, highlighting that nutrition policies can be an effective

obesity prevention strategy in schools . The report writers

state that this is some of the strongest evidence to-date that

nutrition education & promoting healthy eating behaviors in

the classroom & canteen can have a meaningful impact on

children’s health.

For more information on this

study, visit

https://www.nih.gov/news-

events/nih-research-

matters/school-nutrition-

policies-reduce-weight-gain

Live Life Well @ School

Many Australian school children al-

most never walk or ride their bikes

to school, according to new findings

from The Royal Children’s Hospital

National Child Health Poll.

(https://www.rchpoll.org.au/)

More than two thirds of children

(71%) do not walk or ride to school at

all in a typical week and the majority

of children (58%) are driven to or

from school by a car.

Walking or riding to school is a great

healthy habit to implement early in

life. Research shows that students

who participate in regular physical

activity have improved memory and

concentration, as well as better test

results.

Why not kick start an Active Travel

Plan in your school on 17 May for

Walk Safely to School Day (http://

www.walk.com.au/WSTSD/)

For tips on how to implement an Ac-

tive Travel Plan in your school, visit

www.healthykids.nsw.gov.au/

campaigns-programs/childrens-

active-travel or get in touch with your

local Health Promotion Officer

(contact details on Pg 4)

to adapt the games to their context

then rotated in groups, refining their

skills and collaborating to put the

‘Yulunga’ resource to the test. Partic-

ipants reported the afternoon was

“fun, interactive, useful, culturally

appropriate” and that they were

“looking forward to seeing all the

resources and taking them back to

the class”. At the end of the sessions

participants put their skills into ac-

tion with competition Koolchee, with

winners receiving books written by

local Indigenous children to share

with their students.

This month we saw the first round of

“Yulunga Traditional Indigenous

Games” training workshops offered

to early-years educators and primary

teachers in the Tweed Valley. De-

spite the conditions a total of 43 edu-

cators attended the twilight work-

shops at Tweed Heads Community

Centre and Murwillumbah Communi-

ty Centre. The rain didn’t dampen

the spirits of those in attendance as

Victor Slockee (a local elder) deliv-

ered a welcome to country in Yugam-

beh and gave insight into the history

of the local area, while Brent (his son)

played the didgeridoo in the back-

ground. This compelling perfor-

mance was followed by a presenta-

tion on how the Traditional Indige-

nous Games can be utilized in

schools and daycare centers, a re-

view of resources and videos of the

games.

Fortunately, the large indoor spaces

enabled many of the traditional

games to be played. The educators

used a structured planning approach

Stay tuned for the next round of

workshops due to be held across

NNSW later this term!

Does your school have an Active Travel Plan?

Yalunga Traditional Games Workshops

71% OF CHILDREN DON’T

REGULARLY WALK OR RIDE TO

SCHOOL

2 NUPA Nutrition & Physical Activity in Primary Schools

It’s not just about getting kids to eat

their greens: they should be eating

fruits & vegetables of all different

colours. Here are some in-school

strategies to see results!

Use the rainbow! Kids love

learning about colours and the

rainbow. Use it as a starting

point for food choices as it

encourages variety.

Crunch n Sip: During crunch n

sip time get the children to

discuss the different colours of

their food and encourage

them to bring some-

thing of a different

colour the next day!

Teach the children

that different vitamins

come from the differ-

ent colours. Encourage them

to bring in a fact about the

colour of their fruit or vegeta-

ble during Crunch n Sip

Start teaching your class an

awareness of the seasonal

implications of food and en-

courage eating fruit and vege-

tables that are in

season.

Familiarizing chil-

dren with the

taste of fruit and

vegetables helps

establish healthy

habits later in life

so let’s give them all the encourage-

ment we can!

For more rainbow inspiration, visit

SA Health and search for ‘Eat a Rain-

bow Resources’.

Have a fun & healthy

3

How to get children to eat the rainbow

Mother’s Day is fast approaching! We have a few healthy

ideas to inspire:

1. Host a Mother’s Day Kids in the Kitchen: invite

mum’s & grandma’s to get involved. Speak to your

local Health Promotion officer about how to get

started! (contact details overleaf)

2. Obstacle Course: invite mums and grandmas to

your school for a morning obstacle course. Chil-

dren can set it up for their relatives and they can

compete in it together.

3. Recipe Book: compile a document with healthy rec-

ipes that the kids love, complete with pictures, and

print it off for the kids to take home as a gift for

mum

4. Mother’s Day Stalls don’t have to be all sweet

treats. Instead try selling classroom garden grown

herbs & seeds for a healthy green twist!

5. Gift Cards: Mother’s & Father’s Day gift cards to

inspire healthy and active living are now available

at https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/health-

promotion/portfolio/upcoming-events/

Book Nook

Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell

This book offers all of the basics found in

an adult nutrition guide in a format de-

signed specifically for kids. You’ll also

find some great classroom appropriate

hands-on experiments that test food for

fat & reveal the differences between

starch and sweet carbohydrates!

A Drop of Water by Walter Wick

For older primary kids grade 4-6, this beau-

tifully photographed book goes into the

science of water both in the body and on

our planet

Remember to get in contact if your school ever needs any support with implementing LLW

Area Support Officer Phone Email

Clarence Valley Kate Collins 66400154 kate.collins@health.nsw.gov.au

Ballina/Byron Maxine Molyneux 66399142

maxine.molyneux@health.nsw.gov.au

Richmond Valley and surrounds

Martina Pattinson

Corinne Martin

Elsa Mangan

66207668

66207447

66230526

martina.pattinson@health.nsw.gov.au

corinne.martin@health.nsw.gov.au

elsa.mangan@health.nsw.gov.au

Tweed Valley Liz Patterson

Daniel Ashton

66749515

66749506

elizabeth.patterson1@health.nsw.gov.au

daniel.ashton@health.nsw.gov.au

All Anna Huddy 66206188 anna.huddy@health.nsw.gov.au

Veggie gardening tip for this Term!

It’s time to start thinking about getting

ready for Winter gardening. Plant broccoli,

snow peas, cabbage, celery & rocket. Try

your hand at herb gardening with sage,

thyme and lavender—all great Winter-time

plants! If your school doesn’t have an out-

door garden, there is a great Classroom

Gardening resource at https://

nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/health-

promotion/portfolio/nutrition-resources

Time to get Moving!

Have you recently carried heavy book bags up the stairs to your classroom? Or parked a bit

further from school to get a brisk walk in? It’s known as incidental exercise, and while you

know there has to be benefits—research has again proven it.

A paper (https://theconversation.com/dont-have-time-to-exercise-heres-a-regimen-

everyone-can-squeeze-in-111600) recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medi-

cine, shows this type of regular, incidental activity that gets you huffing and puffing is likely

to produce health benefits, even if you do it in 30-second bursts, spread over the day, with-

out really thinking too much about it.

An easy way to help all of us get some high quality exercise each day—encourage your students to walk some of the way to

school (where possible) or skip/hop/jump between class and the playground.

Exercise Right Week (21-28 May) is the perfect time for you + your students to get started!