Celebrating being a health promoting school

MEDIA RELEASE

11 March 2004

Maraenui School staff & pupils don PJs to celebrate being a health promoting school

Over 150 staff and pupils at Napier’s Maraenui Bilingual School turned up in their pyjamas for a celebratory breakfast at school this morning to celebrate their status as a health-promoting school.

The breakfast was part of a whanau day, where parents and caregivers were invited to come and take part in a range of health-promoting activities. Following breakfast, there was a mass brush-in where all the children cleaned their teeth. The school’s dental therapist, Kirsty Daly, has been working with teachers and pupils in preparation for this day. The brush-inn was followed by swimming sports, a healthy lunch, and a game of touch-rugby in the afternoon.

Public health nurse, Phyl Savage, said some children would be surveying parents and caregivers throughout the day, to get their thoughts on what it means to be a health promoting school, and discuss how they can support the healthy practices their children are learning at school.

“An important part of being a health-promoting school is having the buy-in and support of whanau and the community and empowering them to make healthy lifestyle choices for the whole family,” Phyl said.

School principal, Jim Pearcey, said the school was very grateful to a number of Hawke’s Bay suppliers who had ‘come to the party’ by donating healthy food and drinks for the children to enjoy.

Heinz Watties, Export Meats Maraenui, Napier Discount Meats, Hubbards, Mainland Products, Turners and Growers, and Vertex have all donated towards the day.

Mr Pearcey said other projects planned as part of the health-promoting school initiative included Te Kupenga Hauora’s nurse, Davina Te Ngahue, holding health clinics for the pupils on Tuesdays at lunchtimes. As a way of trying to curb vandalism outside school hours, the neighbours backing on to the school have all received a notice asking them to notify the school’s security providers if they hear or see any vandalism being committed. So far two instances of vandalism have been reported and the offenders caught.

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