John English students get fruity
Students launch sale to encourage healthy eating among peers
It'll be fruit salad, kebobs and parfaits on the lunch menu at John English Public School on Friday, March 28 when students launch Fruity Friday - a fruit sale for peers as part of the Healthy Living Youth Leadership Program.
The school was one of three chosen to take part in the program, a seven-week initiative, that taught students about healthy living, leadership and living smoke free.
At the beginning of the program, John English students worked collaboratively with Public Health Nurse Gail Richey.
Richey says she was impressed with the students she worked with, who gave time after school to take part.
"They had to commit to staying after school one night a week between 3:30 and 5 p.m. so right there, they really had to be interested in it," she says.
According to her, the Healthy Living Youth Leadership Program is taught in a fun and interactive way, through the aid of games, and videos, which are later discussed as a group.
"I consider John English to be a very successful program and that was due to such an amazing group of positive and motivated students and also the commitment and support of the teachers," she said.
At the end of the seven weeks, students were asked to create a Peer Project, essentially an initiative allowing them to share what they've learned with the school community. At John English, that initiative took the form of a one-day fruit sale.
Nikki Keenliside, a Grade 7 teacher at John English, said that students wanted to keep it simple and have opted to sell a variety of fruit items over the lunch hour.
"I think creating a healthy environment is certainly always at the forefront," said Keenliside.
"Healthy eating is a good place to start in terms of educating students."
John English's parent council recently received a grant to start a salad bar for students and Keenliside said the money raised from Fruity Friday will go back into the salad bar. She admits it can be tricky to get children to focus on healthy eating.
"I think they're receptive as long as it's convenient," she said. "Sometimes it's not as easy for them to access healthy food. They're not the ones doing the grocery shopping so a lot of it is not in their power."
Meanwhile, Richey says students are not eating enough fruits and vegetables, something that could have serious repercussions on their future health.
"We need to promote that for healthy reasons, to decrease chronic diseases later in life also to prevent overweight and obesity in students," she says.
Keenliside says John English has tried to encourage healthy activities and healthy eating among its students and hopes that Fruity Friday will be a success. "If it's a hit, it's something that will continue," she said.
Richey is equally optimistic and hopes that John English students will become what she calls "healthy living ambassadors."
"I think this program is like a stepping stone to enable the school and the students to do bigger and better things to promote health," she said.
