Health Promoting School Partner Contact Information
About Us
Our Healthy School is an initiative within the Halifax Regional School Board that encourages and supports each school to take steps toward becoming a health promoting school. According to the World Health Organization a health promoting school is a school that is constantly strengthening its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working. Research strongly suggests that health and education are linked and initiatives that improve the health status of student will help to improve their educational achievements.
A health promoting school encourages all members of the school community to work together toward providing students with integrated and positive experiences and structures to promote and protect their health. This includes both the formal and informal curriculum in health, the creation of a safe and healthy school environment, the provision of appropriate health services, and the involvement of the family and community. Each school determines what the important health-related issues are for their school community and then takes action to address it.
Our Partners
Our Healthy School is a Health Promoting School initiative involving these partners: the Halifax Regional School Board, Capital Health (including Public Health Services, Community Health Boards, and Addiction Prevention and Treatment Services), the Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion and Protection, the Canadian Mental Health Association Nova Scotia Division, and Clean Nova Scotia. The goal of Our Healthy School is to have all students within the Halifax Regional School Board belong to school communities that promote good health and constantly strengthen their capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working.
The Nova Scotia Department of Health Promotion & Protection works to improve the future health of Nova Scotians by responding to health issues, preventing chronic diseases and injury, and promoting healthier choices for individuals, families, and communities. Taking steps now, like eating nutritious foods, being physically active, and not smoking, ca n help prevent many diseases and illnesses later in life. Nova Scotia Health Promotion and Protection focuses on: Physical Activity, Sport and Recreation; Healthy Eating; Tobacco Control; Injury Prevention; Addiction Prevention; and Healthy Sexuality. The department also includes the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the public health branch, which will maintain a strong public health system for all Nova Scotians.
Public Health, Capital Health, consists of nurses, licensed practical nurses, nutritionists, dental hygienists, and health educators working together with students, teachers, parents, and the community to promote, maintain and improve the health and well-being of the school community.
Addiction, Prevention & Treatment Services, Capital Health, provides a comprehensive range of programs and services to those affected by harmful involvement with alcohol, other drugs, and/or gambling. These programs and services are available to individuals, families and others whose lives may be touched by gambling or substance abuse. Besides treatment, the agency also plays a role in prevention and health promotion for both adults and children.
Clean Nova Scotia is a non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to environmental education. For more than 15 years we have worked with Nova Scotians to help them understand the importance of environmental responsibility and provide them with the means to make positive decisions about the environment. We do this by providing information to all Nova Scotians and through delivering environmental programs province-wide. Our flagship programs include Waste Reduction Week, the Planet Action Club For Kids (PACK) newsletter, the Quagmire Wetlands Role Playing game, and the Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up. Our mission is to work with Nova Scotians through education and action to achieve environmentally healthy communities.
Canadian Mental Health Association Nova Scotia Division is a nation-wide, charitable organization that promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness. CMHA Nova Scotia Division's mission is to promote the mental health of all Nova Scotians, recognizing cultural diversity. Currently, there are eight branches with nine locations in the province. CMHA Nova Scotia Division works closely with the eight local branches to provide the following programs and services.
The Halifax Regional School Board serves approximately 53,000 students in 137 schools, with approximately 7,000 teachers, staff and school administrators, making it the largest school board in Atlantic Canada. At the Halifax Regional School Board learning is our top priority. Every one of our employees - from our classroom teachers to school administrators, support staff, custodial staff and trades people - play a role in creating a learning environment for the nearly 53,000 students we serve. We believe that every child can learn, and that every child can achieve their best. We also believe that our schools have a vital role to play by instilling in students the value of lifelong learning. To view the HRSB Health Promotion Team Newsletters, please choose from the following list:
Winter 2010 - HP Team Newsletter
Fall 2009 - HP Team Newsletter
Spring 2009 - HP Team Newsletter
Winter 2009 - HP Team Newsletter
For support in forming your school’s Health Promoting School Committee or for more information about health promoting school initiatives such as: increasing physical activity opportunities, organizing a breakfast program, implementing the Provincial School Food and Nutrition Policy, or applying for a Health Promoting School funding support, please contact one of the following Our Healthy School members:
CDHA Public Health 481-5800
7 Mellor Avenue, Unit #5 Dartmouth, NS B3B 0E8
Halifax
Regional
School Board 464-2000
33 Spectacle Lake Dr, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1X7
