Help to make it happen

Your school can seek the help of other community members to assist you with Crunch&Sip®. There are many people in your local area who may be of assistance:

  • Health professionals (eg. dietitians, nutritionists, health promotion officers, public & community health workers, school health nurses, and health workers)
  • Education professionals (eg. regional education officers)
  • Community members (eg. store owners, growers)

Here are a few tips for those of you who need more help to get Crunch&Sip® running in your school.

Getting the right people on board
Getting the right people on board is key to making Crunch&Sip® work. Choose people who are interested because of their commitment to health or education, or because of their profile in the community.

There are many Crunch&Sip® schools already! So we can learn from their experience. Success is largely due to the partnerships created along the way. Good partners help increase the profile of Crunch&Sip®, which is particularly important in the beginning and are essential to keep it going.

You will already know the people in your community who are likely to support you with Crunch&Sip®. People become involved for many different reasons. Research on effective and successful partnerships show that an existing relationship, where there is 'mutual benefit' or 'shared agenda' is a great place to start.

Once you have at least one supporter, come up with a list of other key people you can ask to become involved. Be clear about the mutual benefits - what's in it for the school, the children and them?

What are the mutual benefits?
It is important that everyone keeps in mind the main benefits of Crunch&Sip®:

Better education:

    Well-hydrated and nourished students concentrate and perform better. Their mental, physical and social function is improved. Teachers report children are happier, better behaved and more willing to learn.

Better health:

    Children with good eating habits are less likely to be overweight and have less diet-related disease as adults.

How to involve the wider community
Form a committee to plan and coordinate Crunch&Sip® in your area. This committee could enrol a number of schools into the program. It can provide help to schools who are struggling to get going.

The committee may include education, health and community representatives. Identify people such as principals, Regional Education Office staff, teachers, local Health Service staff, dietitians, nutritionists, local growers, fruit and vegetable retailers and parents. Committees of 6 to 10 people work best.

Remember to keep the door open for people that are not able to be involved. Keep them informed and share your success with them.

Help spread the word
You may be able to enlist the support of people in your community to promote Crunch&Sip®. Some schools are really keen to be involved in Crunch&Sip® but others need a bit more convincing. If this is the case, you could run information sessions about Crunch&Sip® and its benefits.

Use the information sessions to provide an overview of Crunch&Sip®. The aim of the session is to enrol attendees into supporting Crunch&Sip®. You can use the following resources to assist you. View Brochure and the Presentation and Presenters Notes.

Tips for a successful information session include:

  • Provide fruit and water for participants
  • Show the Powerpoint presentation
  • Recruit widely
  • Be prepared (set up room early, have someone assist you, have a sign up sheet, read all common questions)

Follow up interested people to support them to start Crunch&Sip® in their school.

Get help with information sessions by asking for assistance from:

  • Regional Education Office staff
  • Population and Public Health Services
  • Other Health Service staff in your area (eg dietitian, nutritionist, health promotion officers, school health nurses, health workers, dental staff)

These people may be able to assist you in conducting the sessions, or be available to run them for you. It works best if you can organise the session for a number of schools at one time.

Take the opportunity to organise Crunch&Sip® information sessions for:

  • District principals meetings
  • Principals, teachers, P&C committees, etc. and parents
  • The public at community events

Use other health promotion opportunities to promote Crunch&Sip®. You could encourage schools to trial Crunch&Sip® during related promotional weeks eg.

  • Schools Fruit 'n' Veg Week -Department of Health, WA
  • Heart Week -Heart Foundation
  • Nutrition Week -Nutrition Australia

If you have become a Crunch&Sip® school, you will want others to know. Your school is demonstrating its commitment to improving child health through promoting healthy eating and the drinking water habit. You can use the following promotional ideas to take these messages to the entire community.

  • Let the media know that you are now a Crunch & Sip school and have a launch. Send out your own media release
  • Link with other health promotion activities to increase awareness of Crunch&Sip®, they provide a great opportunity.

Recruiting schools
Nobody likes to miss out on a great opportunity or be left behind. You may find it easier to convince a particular school to become involved if other schools in the local are.

Some ideas to assist you in recruiting schools:

  • Invite schools to lead the way and host a Crunch&Sip® information session
  • Send an invitation letter to participate in Crunch&Sip® to the principal
  • Ask for a nominated Crunch&Sip® contact person for each school
  • Meet with interested schools to discuss Crunch&Sip® and find out what support they need
  • Meet with school P&C to assist in setting up a school Crunch&Sip® committee
  • Insert a short article in the school newsletter inviting anyone interested to attend a Crunch&Sip® information session
  • Approach the school principal to find out the best way to let the school know about Crunch&Sip®
  • Use the common questions to help you talk to those who need a bit of convincing

Any time is a good time to plant the seed for a new idea; however, there are times that schools may be in a better position to take up Crunch&Sip®. Most schools write their management plans between Terms 3 and 4, so it makes sense to start recruiting before Term 3. The start of the year is a time that schools may implement new programs, but a good lead in time is needed.

Keeping Crunch&Sip® Alive
It is important to keep Crunch&Sip® alive in schools once it has started. These are the main things you will need to do to encourage schools with Crunch&Sip®.

  • Keep in contact with schools to make sure that Crunch&Sip® has started
  • Find out what support schools need to keep it on their agenda
  • Find out what support schools need to formalise their Crunch&Sip® school policy
  • Encourage schools to apply to submit their Crunch&Sip® application
  • Encourage teachers to do classroom activities supporting Crunch&Sip®
  • Encourage teachers to explore using associated resources and links
  • Use the surveys to see how Crunch&Sip® is going