The Fourth Annual, National,
HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY IN CANADA
is Tuesday, April 24, 2012
What would make a difference in your school or schools?
Do you have an event to add to the Healthy Schools Day Project Registry? HSD Ideas for All
Healthy classroom and school building environments is the focus. Use less toxic cleaning materials, building materials, and classroom materials. Use safe alternatives for pest control. Improve Indoor Air Quality. Stop bus and car idling. Control and remove indoor mould growth. What does your school need? Your project can be big or small - It can just say "Thanks" when things are going well!
Why a National Healthy Schools Day?
- Many schools have problems linked to indoor air quality.
- Children are more vulnerable to environmental hazards.
- Children spend an average of 30 to 50 hours per week in school.
- Staff spend even more time in their school workplaces.
- Poor indoor environmental quality is associated with a wide rage of problems that include respiratory Illnesses and poor concentration leading to poor learning.
- Asthma studies show up to 13% and in some areas 17% of school age children have asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism, accounting for thousands of missed school days each year, and high costs to the medical system.
- Many studies have found positive health impacts from improved indoor air-quality.
- Healthy new and existing schools provide cleaner air, improved lighting, and reduced exposures to toxic substances, and provide a healthier and safer learning environment for children, and improved academic achievement and well-being.
- Research suggests that children attending schools in good condition score 5 to 10 percent higher on standardized tests than students who attend schools in poor condition.
- Studies show that resources put into improving indoor environment quality have a rapid pay back.
- Our Country's school boards commonly make very difficult decisions between cutting back much needed academic programs vs. cutting back on needed building maintenance.
- Federal and provincial governments have demonstrated interest in this important issue by developing programs like the Tools for Schools IAQ Action Kit, creating data, information and conferences on school IAQ; and are working to provide healthier schools every day.
- Our schools have the great responsibility of guiding the future of our children. Our children are our country’s greatest resource.
Projects don't have to be held on the exact day.
They can be an ongoing project(s) or take some other form.
They just need to be designated as a Healthy Schools Day project to mark or draw attention to Healthy Schools Day in Canada - Journee des ecoles du Canada.
Join the national action!
Healthy School environments don’t just “happen”…they need all of us!
Register your project on the Project Registry.
Background
Twelve national and provincial organizations met on March 12, 2009 to declare a national Healthy Schools Day in Canada to focus on school indoor environment issues such as air quality. Since then, over 35 organizations have given their support.
The purpose of the day is to foster improvements, celebrate successes, and create projects that make indoor environments of new and existing schools the best they can be.
Every year, Healthy Schools Day in Canada (HSD) will give citizens, students, teachers, organizations, school boards, and all Canadians, a time to focus on school buildings' indoor environment quality to benefit the health and learning ability of our country's school children, and protect the health of workers in Canadian schools.
Healthy Schools Day is the Tuesday of CEFPI's School Building Week. CEFPI is the Council of Education Facilities Planners International.
CASLE (Canadians for A Safe Learning Environment, www.casle.ca) is coordinating Healthy Schools Day.