DASH Newsletter

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February 2020 | Issue 1

Upcoming Events

Random Acts of Kindness Week

February 16th - 23rd, 2020

Help turn the world kind by celebrating RAK week. It's a great chance to have fun at school while being a little extra kind. Find lesson plans, stories, videos and kindness ideas from the Random Acts of Kindness website here.

Pink Shirt Day

February 26th, 2020

Pink Shirt Day aims to raise awareness about bullying in schools. Your school can participate by hanging up posters and, of course, wearing a pink shirt! Learn more.

Wellness Corner

How do you look after your mental well-being? Gail Markin, a Teacher-Counsellor in the Langley School District wrote an article for EdCan's Well at Work about the importance of belonging in the eduction workplace:

"If we want to engage, retain, and inspire people in the education profession, then, just like students in the classroom, educators need to feel safe in their workplaces..."

Read the full article here.

iPad Giveaway Contest!

Are you passionate about promoting health and well-being within your school community?

DASH is offering 4 schools the chance to win a set of 10 iPads to be used to towards helping make your school a healthy school community.

For more information about the contest rules visit our website and to scroll down to the News & Updates section.

Act fast – the deadline for entry is February 28th, 2020 .

A Message from the Executive Director

By Faye Willick

It is difficult to believe that I am now entering my third year with DASH. A great deal has happened in the last year. DASH has a new name – DASH Dedicated Action for School Health Society , a current strategic plan, an enthusiastic regional team, an updated website and now a newsletter.

The newsletter will highlight activities from DASH’s current initiatives, feature a “Wellness Corner”, and publicize upcoming health promotion events and announcements.

You and our partners inspire DASH initiatives. We sent a survey to all 60 BC School District Superintendents asking them to share their priorities for their schools. The respondents identified the following in order of priority:

Students and Staff Well-being (100%)
Substance Use (92%)
Physical Health, Activity & Literacy (75%)
Gender Identity & Inclusion (58%)
Healthy Eating (58%)
School Connectedness (42%)

Based on these results, DASH is focusing our resources on the Healthy School Communities Certification pilot project, staff and student well-being research and focus groups targeting youth substance use.

We continue to strengthen our partnerships with our health, education and community colleagues.

Don’t miss out any future issue, subscribe to our newsletter here.

Updates

Healthy School Communities Certification Pilot

DASH has enrolled 11 schools to take part in our Healthy School Communities Certification pilot program for the 2019-2020 school year. The initiative, based on Ontario Physical and Health Education Association’s program , recognizes and celebrates school communities for promoting and enhancing the health and well-being of students, school staff, and the broader community.

Schools complete the 6-Step Healthy Schools Process over the course of the school year to earn points and then apply to be certified in April 2020.

The goals of DASH’s Healthy School Community Certification are:

To support and increase the capacity of schools to address a priority health topic through the effective implementation of the 6-Step Healthy Schools Process
To celebrate and formally recognise an individual school’s achievements relating to Healthy Schools

To learn more about the program see Ophea’s 3-minute video.

Do you have a question or want to be involved for the 2020-2021 school year?

Message from the Board Chair

By Karen Wonders

Welcome to 2020! On behalf of the Board of Directors for DASH Dedicated Action for School Health Society, it is my pleasure to introduce you to our inaugural newsletter which we are very proud to showcase.

As Board Chair, I can confirm with confidence the ongoing commitment and dedication of our Board to achieve our mission: DASH collaborates with schools and other partners to create, facilitate and support school communities to be optimal places for health and learning through a Comprehensive School Health Approach.

Our Board is a diverse group of people with varied and extensive skill sets. We share a keen interest and passion to better the health and well-being of all students through collaborative efforts and partnerships. Please take a moment to meet our Board of Directors here.

With a renewed strategic plan we are excited to move full steam ahead as we enter this new decade. As a Board, our main focus will be to:

Ensure that we have an ideal governance framework in place that promotes transparency taking us well into the future;
Have an up to date repertoire of appropriate policies;
Maintain a continued focus on the retention and recruitment of Board Members; and
Improve the orientation processes of new Board Members.

I would also like to send a sincere thank you to our funders, partners, schools, and communities for your continued partnerships and support.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2020.