Physical Activity (K-12)

Information and resources to support knowledge and competency in teaching related to physical education and physical literacy.


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Weight Bias and Stigma in Schools

Developed by Interior Health British Columbia, this resource explains how weight bias and stigma can affect all dimensions of students' wellbeing in the school context. The authors outline multiple steps school staff can take to reduce weight bias and offer links to many recommended resources to extend learning in this area. https://www.interiorhealth.ca/sites/default/files/PDFS/weight-bias-and-stigma-in-schools.pdf

Ophea

Based in Ontario, Ophea's vision is that all children and youth value and enjoy the lifelong benefits of healthy, active living. They champion healthy, active living in schools and communities, work with and support teachers, education leaders, health professionals and pre-service teachers and provide resources to support the implementation of health and wellness initiatives in Ontario schools. View the Ophea website to learn more.  https://www.ophea.net/

Energy Cubes Challenge

The Energy Cubes Challenge targets K-8 students to engage in as much physical activity as possible for one month, both at school and at home. The challenge runs from April 27th and May 25th, 2020. Students can get family members moving, too, to earn more 'energy cubes'. Students and families will collect cubes and combine them with the rest of the school, then schools can win prizes! In 2019 schools across Canada collected more than 100,000,000 cubes — that's a lot of cubes! The Energy Cubes Challenge will award the winning school with a full day of entertainment. Runners-up get more than $500 worth of quality sports equipment for their school!  The Energy Cubes Challenge is a partnership between la Fédération des éducateurs et éducatrices physiques enseignants du Québec (FEEPEQ), Québecor, Télé-Québec and the Government of Canada. Visit the website to learn more and sign your school up! https://cubesenergie.com/en/primary-school-canada

DASH BC: Dedicated Action for School Health

Based in BC, Dedicated Action for School Health (DASH) promotes, supports and facilitates the creation of healthy school communities. DASH works with cross-sector partners to promote comprehensive school health. It runs a variety of school-health initiatives. It also has resources to support healthy school communities. View the DASH BC website to access these resources, and also sign up for the newsletter to keep up with its work. https://dashbc.ca/ 

Dove School Workshops on Body Image: Confident Me

Body confidence and self-esteem affect young people's learning. Although 8 out of 10 girls opt out of everyday activities because of concern about their looks, Dove is working to change that. Dove launched its self-esteem project to help young people grow up feeling confident. Teachers and educators have access to the Dove School Workshops on Body Image: Confident Me. These are evidence-informed resources aimed at 11- to 14-year-olds. The free downloadable tools allow teachers and educators to run body-confidence workshops. Explore the impact that image ideals portrayed in the media have on young people's self-esteem. The single- and five-lesson tools adapt to your time frame, and Dove proved that both tools make a positive impact on improving body confidence. https://www.dove.com/us/en/dove-self-esteem-project/school-workshops-on-body-image-confident-me.html

Beyond Images Media Literacy Program

Developed by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC), Beyond Images is a turn-key media literacy curriculum for students in grades 4-8. It is made possible with support from the Dove Self-Esteem Project. The free online lesson plans include activities to combat appearance-based bullying and negative stereotypes. Students will explore key issues around body image and self-esteem, as well as messaging within the media. They will develop critical thinking skills in this authentic learning and collaborative inquiry opportunity. Beyond Images provides a safe and comfortable setting for students to discuss challenges and questions about their bodies. NEDIC provides information, resources, referrals and support to Canadians affected by eating disorders through open and supportive dialogue. It offers a helpline, prevention-based outreach and educational programming. https://beyondimages.ca

The Student Body: Promoting Health at Any Size

The Student Body, a teacher training module, exists to help alert teachers (and parents) to the factors that can trigger unhealthy dieting among children, as well as ways to prevent it. The website sheds light on six areas of concern: Media and Peer Pressure Healthy Eating Active living Teasing Adult Role Models School Climate These learning modules use animations, videos and background information to emphasize some of the positive and negative factors affecting body image and unhealthy eating habits. http://thestudentbody.aboutkidshealth.ca

PHE Canada

Physical and Health Education Canada (PHE Canada) is a national charitable association. It encourages healthy, active kids by promoting quality health and physical education opportunities, as well as healthy learning environments. PHE Canada inspires all to live healthy, physically active lives. Since 1993, it has provided quality programs, professional development services and community initiatives.  https://phecanada.ca

ATA Health and Physical Education Council Blog

The Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) is a specialist council of the Alberta Teachers Association. HPEC's vision is that Alberta teachers will provide quality instruction and programs in health and physical education to promote the development of healthy active lifestyles in students. Check out their blog here: http://albertahpec.blogspot.com

Raising Our Kids Healthy

Raising Our Healthy Kids is a series of 60-90 second videos with up-to-date health information for parents and care providers. These short snappy videos will help Canadian families live healthier lives. They were developed for parents, parents to be and grandparents; pre-natal groups and classes; health care providers who work with parents; teachers; childcare workers; and many more groups and individuals who could benefit. Topics range from nutrition to physical activity to oral health.  The videos are the vision of Shadow Light Productions and Kay Watson-Jarvis. The video content was developed by a multi-stakeholder group including Dietitians of Canada, Alberta Health Services and Canada Research Chair in Food Marketing, Policy and Children's Health, Dr. Charlene Elliott, with input from physicians and community stakeholders across Canada. The content of the videos is consistent with messages from Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada, Alberta Health Services, and nutrition messages are consistent with PEN: Practice-based Evidence in Nutrition®. The videos were produced by Shadow Light Productions with principal funding from the Calgary Health Trust. Financial support for French translations provided by EatRight Ontario. http://www.raisingourhealthykids.com

ATA’s Health and Physical Education Council

The Health and Physical Education Council (HPEC) is a specialist council of the Alberta Teachers Association. HPEC's vision is that Alberta teachers will provide quality instruction and programs in health and physical education to promote the development of healthy active lifestyles in students. For more information on HPEC, including information on their events and resources check out: http://www.hpec.ab.ca

APPLE Schools

APPLE Schools (A Project Promoting healthy Living for Everyone in schools) is an innovative school-focused health promotion initiative. By improving healthy eating, physical activity and mental health habits, APPLE Schools improves the lives of more than 20,000 students annually. The project works in 74 schools across Manitoba, northern Alberta, British Columbia the Northwest Territories. The project is guided by the APPLE Schools Board, a registered charitable foundation. http://www.appleschools.ca

Alberta Healthy School Communities Wellness Fund

The Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund (AHSCWF) is a joint initiative between the University of Alberta's School of Public Health Centre for Healthy Communities and the Government of Alberta. AHSCWF promotes sustainable, healthy school communities across the province. Its mission is to support Alberta school communities to improve students' health and learning outcomes. AHSCWF addresses wellness in a planned, integrated and holistic way. It uses a comprehensive school health framework to carry out its work and envisions children and youth able to flourish. https://www.ualberta.ca/alberta-healthy-school-community-wellness-fund/about-us

Alberta Education: Framework for K-12 Wellness Education

Wellness education in Alberta envisions students becoming educated, informed, and contributing members of society. Student wellness occurs when students develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to be well: physically, emotionally, socially, mentally and spiritually. Alberta Education has developed a framework for wellness education in Alberta's K-12 schools (2015), which is informed by a comprehensive school health approach. It incorporates the needs and priorities of 21st century learners to nurture the whole child. https://education.alberta.ca/wellness-education/wellness-education/

Ever Active Schools

Ever Active Schools (EAS) is a provincial initiative in Alberta to create and support healthy school communities. Using a comprehensive school health approach, it addresses health and education goals to improve the social outcomes of children and youth. The Health and Physical Education Council of the Alberta Teachers' Association created EAS as a special project. It uses collaborative partnerships, projects-based work, knowledge exchange and competency-based learning opportunities to accomplish goals. It is a connecting point within the province for supporting healthy children and youth. EAS runs projects such as Learn to Skate, Teachers of Tomorrow and more. It also provides professional learning and plenty of classroom-ready resources for teachers. It hosts conferences and events for both professionals and youth to further its work in the health and education fields. EAS shares content through an annual magazine and a monthly e-newsletter, along with other channels such as social media. Ever Active Schools receives funding from government as well as private grants and partners. It has worked closely with Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities to increase capacity for sport and overall student well-being in Alberta school communities. Visit the Ever Active Schools website to learn more about comprehensive school health, access resources and professional learning, and get involved with provincial projects. http://everactive.org

Alberta Health Services: The Comprehensive School Health Approach

Comprehensive School Health is an internationally-recognized and effective approach for building healthy school communities. It can be used to address a variety of health issues and can improve health, education, and social outcomes for children and youth. Using a whole-school model, CSH builds capacity to incorporate well-being as an essential aspect of student achievement. Alberta Health Services has dedicated a page to CSH implementation resources, including an introduction to the CSH framework, steps for building a healthy school community, and the distinct, but inter-related, components of CSH that comprise the approach. https://schools.healthiertogether.ca/en/learn/the-csh-framework/