Bright Idea Badge Inspiration

Get inspired with these ideas from schools that earned the Bright Idea badge!

Foodopoly – Deer Park Public School, May 2017 

Twelve gr 6-8 students met with Susie from YR Public Health for training in the Healthy Eating Ambassador Program. They learned about healthy eating and obstacles students face to making wise choices. After brainstorming ways to encourage nutritious eating among students the group decided to use the game monopoly as a starting point for a game called Foodopoly. They used their knowledge to create a game and borrowed the nutrition wheel to educate others by peer to peer game options. By using the game and the nutrition wheel for whole class sessions they aimed to educate and entertain their peers.

Food Police No More – St. Padre Pio Catholic Elementary School, May 2017 

During one of our healthy schools committee meetings the teachers and vice principal expressed interest in having the York Region Public Health nutritionist do a lunch and learn session with the teachers. The presentation discussed: healthy school food culture, what teachers can do to promote healthy eating, how to discuss nutrition using a neutral (do no harm) approach, cross-curricular connections and practical ideas to foster an authentic learning experience for students. Given all of the media attention to “policing of school lunches” lately, it is valuable to have a qualified nutrition professional come in and share accurate and reliable information in a way that is consistent.

BrightBites Basics – Roch Carrier French Immersion Public School, March 2017

We invited our public health dietitian to present at our staff meeting for the month of January. She spoke about the importance of a positive food culture at school and things we could do as teachers to promote healthy eating. She shared some great examples (from bright bites) such as not rewarding students with treats but rather using stickers/pencils or encouraging physical activity by having a dance for students. By reaching out to our public health dietitian we learned many new and interesting ways to promote a positive food culture at our school. We are looking forward to implementing the ideas she shared with us.

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The Great Health Challenge – Roch Carrier French Immersion Public School, March 2017

As a way to celebrate March being Nutrition Month, our Healthy Schools Team came up with a trivia challenge called “Le grand défi santé de Roch Carrier”. During the video announcements each day, there is a question that needs to be answered in order to receive a point. Some of the questions so far have been – Name three fruits and/or vegetables that come from Ontario. Name one kind of hybrid fruit. Since there are 18 school days in March, we have 18 different questions. The class with the most points at the end of March will then win the chance to plan their own picnic with healthy foods to enjoy later on in the spring. We have over 10 homerooms participating in our challenge and so far it has been a very close race! Funding for the picnic has been provided through our Metro Green Apple Grant.

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Carnaval Creations – Roch Carrier French Immersion Public School, March 2017

Since we are a French immersion school, we celebrate “Carnaval” every February. It is a time to go outside, have fun in the snow and to use our French in a fun and meaningful way. Last year, one of the activities was an edible craft. Students made marshmallow snowmen and decorated them with various types of candy. This year, with our healthy eating goals in mind, we decided to make snowmen out of bananas and other types of fruit instead. The activity was completely student-led thanks to our helpers from grades 4, 7 and 8. It was a huge success. Students enjoyed making their healthy treat and gobbling it up afterwards too. Already thinking about healthy snack ideas for Carnaval next year.

Snack Selfies – Discovery Public School, February 2017 

Bright Idea Discovery

We made it an option that anyone with a healthy snack (from home or from the school) could take a selfie at recess with their snack. The selfies were posted as part of the tv slideshow in our front hall. More and more students continue to come to the office for snacks and selfies. Our current data shows that more students are having fruit or vegetables for snacks than earlier in the year.