Getting the message out

Here are some ideas to share the Crunch&Sip message with your parents, students, staff and the local media. Choose the strategies that work for you.

Parents

Send a letter home with students.
Distribute Crunch&Sip brochures. Send these home with students and have some available in your school's reception area. Provide one on enrolment to new students.
Include information on Crunch&Sip in your school handbook for parents.
Distribute Crunch&Sip fridge reminder magnets.
Include inserts in the school or classroom newsletter.
Discuss at parent meetings.
Give out Crunch&Sip information when new students join your class.
Have your school's Crunch&Sip policy available on the website.
Display Crunch&Sip posters in your school's reception, under-cover and high traffic areas.
Display your Crunch&Sip certificate.

Students

Discuss the idea of eating vegetables and fruit and drinking water in the classroom with students. Discussion topics could include the amount of fruit, vegetables and water students currently eat, the benefits of eating fruit and vegetables and drinking water, or favourite fruit and veg.
Discuss permitted food and drinks and the requirement to wash and fill their water bottle daily.
Order and distribute Crunch&Sip bookmarks.
Make announcements at assembly and over the PA.
Include reminders for staff to pass on to students during daily/weekly communications.
Use the weekly classroom tally chart to encourage students to bring vegetables or fruit and a water bottle each day.
Get excited! Students are more likely to participate if they have an enthusiastic role model.

Staff and the school community

Present at school committees (e.g. P&C/P&F).
Present the Crunch&Sip PowerPoint at staff meetings.
Encourage staff to visit the Crunch&Sip website to learn about the basics. Include a link on the school intranet or email to staff.
Ensure new staff are made aware that the school participates in Crunch&Sip.
Include updates and reminders using staff communication (emails, daily bulletins, communications and staff meetings)
How about having an official Crunch&Sip launch in your school each year so that all members of the school community know it exists? This could take place on a special day, at an assembly or at a relevant meeting.

Local media

Schools signing up to the Crunch&Sip program or participating in events such as the Great Aussie Crunch or Kick Start to Crunch&Sip can get in contact with their local media to help promote the event. This helps raise the profile of the school as well as helping to get the word out about school initiatives.

Here's a guide to getting media coverage for your school:

Check with your school administration or governing body before seeking media coverage.
Consider a Crunch&Sip event to generate media interest. This could be a whole-school Crunch&Sip break, a themed assembly or launching a fruit and vegetable garden.
Find out the contact details of your local media. For Community Newspapers in Perth and surrounds, find out here. In regional areas, try here to search for your paper and find the contact details.
Email a media release to the 'editorial' or 'news' departments. It is a good idea to follow up with a phone call to remind them of the activities you have planned. Include information such as school name, contact details, and information on the activities you have planned. Also, add in times and dates for the newspaper to visit for photo opportunities. Direct journalists to this website if they require more information on Crunch&Sip.
If you are lucky enough to have a photographer visit your school, ensure that students have appropriate media consent from parents.
Hope for the best! There are no guarantees that your story will feature.
If you would like assistance obtaining media, please contact the Cancer Council WA on (08) 9388 4340 or crunchandsip@cancerwa.asn.au