KPE professor Joanna Sheppard is once again bringing a group of 25 UFV students (from KPE and Teacher Education programs) to Antigua, West Indies. The 2014 Champions for Health Promoting Schools program will run from April 28-May 26, 2014.
“School programs can play a vital role in the provision of learning opportunities that protect and promote the dignity of human life and freedom,” says Sheppard. “Education can prepare young people to play active roles in their communities by empowering them to lead and responsibly manage change. Educational programs which enhance efforts to prepare young people to be change agents with care for self and others in mind represent the forefront of educational improvement.”
The Champions for Health Promoting Schools program is dedicated to improving the life chances of children and their families through health promotion initiatives that:
- enrich the quality of teaching and learning in classrooms
- expand opportunities for students to play leadership roles at school and in communities
- relate academic learning to care for self, others, and environments that support growth
- integrate skills for literacy and the arts (music, drama, storytelling, visual art) with health
- build bridges between community health projects and school projects e.g. safe communities, environmental protection.
The student teachers from UFV will help to deliver physical education programs that focus upon the development of important life skills such as cooperation, problem solving, personal and social responsibility and making healthy choices.
In addition to their daily teaching activities within the schools, the UFV studenta will also be planning the Unity Games.
“They have been working hard since the beginning of January in preparation for this four week program. From lesson planning to teaching each other about the island, our students are passionately determined to utilize their best practices within their own teaching experiences in Antigua,” says Sheppard. “I invite you to follow our blog and leave us a few comments as our students express their professional and personal reflections about their time on the island.”
See the blog at: www.healthypromotingschools.com
Sheppard thanks everyone who has supported the program.