School District #73

Healthy children are better able to learn. The opposite is true as well – students who get a good education tend to be healthier for life. Given the inextricable link between health and education, schools provide an ideal setting for children to learn healthy habits that can benefit them for the rest of their lives.

 -  BC Ministry of Education

The Kamloops/Thompson School District, in combination with parents and communities within its boundaries, encourages a healthy lifestyle in our youth.  In addition to many school programs, the District works closely with community agencies and the City of Kamloops to provide our students with opportunities to be active and healthy. 

One exciting program which will be getting underway this fall is the Grade 3 Swim-to-Survive program. All grade 3 classes in School District #73 will have the opportunity to take part in three free swimming lessons as part of their PE program this year. A grant has been provided to School District #73 and the City of Kamloops by the BC Lifesaving Society to provide free instruction and transportation for the Swim to Survive program. As drowning is a leading cause of preventable death in Canada, this program works to ensure that all students have the necessary skills to survive an unexpected fall into water. This is a meaningful program that supports the health of our students. Please talk to your child’s teacher for more information.

A second healthy living focus for our school district is teaching students about healthy food, and where food comes from. Several schools have begun school gardens and are learning to plant, tend and harvest their own food. Some of the attached pictures show the students at Bert Edwards Science and Technology School weeding their school garden and having fun learning about a plant’s life cycle. These gardens have been a valuable addition to the in-class instruction on healthy eating already occurring around the district. Garden Boxes have also been provided to several schools in the district through Joel Dyck and the Kamloops Barden Box Society. These are being used in areas where a garden is not possible to be planted.

To further compliment the instruction on healthy eating, thirty-one schools are taking part in the BC Fruit and Vegetable Nutritional Program through Agriculture in the Classroom. This program provides free fruits and vegetables every two weeks for the students to snack on. As research shows, eating the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables improves children's health and improves children's ability to concentrate. This program encourages fruit and vegetable consumption as it allows students to try fresh foods that they may not have had the opportunity to otherwise taste.

In order to encourage our students to be active, the school district provides a variety of in-school and out of school opportunities. Students take part in daily physical activity, Physical Education classes and our provincially recognized athletics program. Professional development opportunities are regularly offered to our teachers to improve their practice and further develop their skills. The school district also offers a wellness program to its employees, as we believe healthy adults encourage healthy students. Our school district has also been working closely with other community and provincial agencies to provide innovative programming to our students.

Last year the City of Kamloops and SD #73 embarked on a pilot project known as “See It Try It Do It”. This program provides opportunities for students at select schools to take part in a variety of after-school activities including such activities as hip-hop dance, circus arts, and tennis. This program is being complimented by a second program known as PAART, which is takes place on Saturdays during the winter and teaches students skills in both fine arts and physical activity in a fun and inclusive environment. Both of these programs will be continuing in select schools again this year and will continue to offer unique programming opportunities to the students. Two schools have also been actively involved in the Sprockids Mountain bike club with the support of Spoke ‘n Motion Bike shop. This program encourages positive self-esteem, friendship and fun through the development of cycling skills. The program will be continued and expanded in the spring.

For more information on any of these programs please contact Mike Johnson, the SD #73 Health Promoting Schools Coordinator at 250-376-2266