Healthy Schools Recognition Award

Hey Middlesex County and London secondary school teachers! Want to get recognized and rewarded for all the great activities that are happening at your school?

Get Started

To make the most impact, school health promotion initiatives should target one topic and address that topic throughout the year, using multiple strategies. The Ontario Ministry of Education's Foundations for a Healthy School document identifies the following as important health topics to address in schools: physical activity, healthy eating, growth and development, mental health, substance use, addictions and related behaviours, and personal safety and injury prevention. Use this step-by-step guide below.

Step 1: Pick a Health Topic

To help determine which topic is best for your school, think about the following questions:

• What are the main health concerns in your school?
• Do you have data or evidence that demonstrates a need to address a specific topic?
• What would you like to see improved in your school?
• Are you currently addressing specific topic areas and need additional support?
• Have you consulted the toolkits? See list and links to toolkits under Step 3. Each toolkit contains statistics, background information and ideas for activities.

To be eligible for the award, your school needs to be within Middlesex County or London, Ontario. Once you have picked a health topic, register for the Healthy Schools Recognition Award by contacting the public health nurse at your school. You can find the public health nurse at your school from the link below.

List of Public Health Nurses (PDF)

Step 2: Create a Plan

Looking for ideas? The Middlesex-London Health Unit has developed four toolkits to support comprehensive school health. The toolkit topics include:

• Healthy Eating: Increasing Vegetables & Fruit
• Physical Activity: Reducing Sedentary Behaviour
• Mental Health: Increasing School Connectedness
• Reducing Substance Use: Tobacco, E-Cigarettes, Alcohol, Cannabis

Download the School Toolkits

This recognition award uses Google Drive. Here you will find a planning tool to help you plan and implement activities that align with several components of the Foundations for a Healthy School. Start the planning tool and continually update/add throughout the school year.

Step 3: Capture Your Activities

Throughout the school year, document your activities in the planning tool. Take photos, videos, etc. and post your activities on social media. Photos and videos can be uploaded to Google Drive for storing. All persons appearing in the pictures or videos must have a completed school board required photo release forms. You will need photos or videos for your final submission.

Step 4: Submit

Complete your planning tool and submit for review. Complete the School Submission Template by adding your photos, videos and/or social media posts to create a submission. Submit your project by uploading your submission to the Health Unit's Healthy Schools Google Drive.

Step 5: Get Rewarded

Celebration is an important step of the healthy schools process. Planning and implementing comprehensive school health initiatives takes a lot of work. Celebrate your efforts and the impact you have had on your fellow students. If your school’s submission meets all eligibility criteria you will be awarded up to $300  to put towards future healthy school initiatives. We request that funds be put into a non-board healthy school account, so funds are available to be used for future healthy school initiatives.