Family healthy living

Debra has made a delicious healthy breakfast – a Spanish Omlette.

Manaia View School in Whangarei was awarded their fifth Heart Foundation “Gold Heart Beat Award” at a school assembly last month.

They are the first school in NZ to achieve five gold awards – an accomplishment of which everyone involved is proud.

Manaia View School has consistently promoted healthy eating, including having a productive edible garden, being a water only school and encouraging families to provide healthy lunch boxes.

The school has a strong belief in a holistic approach in well being and aims to support and educate the community wherever possible.

Heart Foundation spokesperson Rona Mahy-Willis says they were particularly impressed with the healthy advertisements the students at Manaia View School produced for the TV programme Pukeko Echo.

The students direct and produce Pukeko Echo, a daily programme on Whangarei’s regional television station, Channel North. It presents a daily fitness series as well as a cooking segment, providing healthy and low cost nutritious recipes for the whole community.

Manaia View School is also a “Health Promoting School” and a “Fruit in School” participant, which is a government-funded initiative.

Health curriculum team leader Heather Whaikawa says these programmes make an incredible difference to the children’s health and well-being.

In the winter soups were used for fund-raising utilising some of the vegetables from the edible garden.

The Breakfast Club is another increasingly popular project that provides daily breakfasts for children. This aligns with Manaia View School’s healthy eating policy and it helps the children’s concentration, behaviour and learning capacity.

Recently the Kapa Haka Festival was also hosted by Manaia View School. The catering team prepared food for the Friday evening porwhiri.

The innovative menu consisted of a wide range of healthy, nutritious and interesting food for the successful event.

Other initiatives at the school, which encompass health and well-being include:

• Jump Jam, Fitness.

• St Vincent lunches programme.

• Health units taught in classrooms.

• Zero Waste (for the past two years now).

• Recycling – All classes have green bins for any paper (huge saving as skips are $150 to empty, Paper skips $5!).

• Newsletters – have Health News diabetes in August, oral hygiene in September.

• Health displays in the library and posters around school and in classrooms to promote healthy eating – many of the works are created by students.

• Technology Centre – All scenarios are around healthy eating and feeding the brain. The centre has nine contributing schools.

• 5+ a Day.

• Matariki every two years – Health stall is set up with information for the community – students dehydrate fruit and give away from the stall. Brochures to promote every facet of health, including recipes, healthy lunch boxes, stop smoking brochures etc are given away.

• TV segments – presenting a series of cooking and exercise on Pukeko Echo, Channel North. Many already run. Still making more shows and advertisements.

• Daily tooth Brushing.

Manaia View School principal Leanne Otene says they are committed to providing the best environment for their students.

“The school has seen a huge improvement in not only the health of students but also the academic results… our staff and child­ren are healthy, happy and focused on learning. All of these initiatives help to give body to our dreams ‘Whakatinana te Moemoea’.”