School athletics carnival
The school athletics carnival is a great time to promote healthy lifestyle messages to your school community.
We encourage schools to provide a comprehensive approach to health promotion, focusing not just on the benefits of exercise but also the importance of other behaviours such as healthy eating and protecting skin from the sun. This can be achieved by consistent messaging and creating environments that support healthy behaviours. Following a healthy lifestyle helps children to reach their full potential - whether that means becoming an Olympic athlete, scientist, nurse, electrician or political leader!
Here are some ideas!
Get the whole school community involved
- Engage the whole school community in helping to plan a healthy athletics carnival
- Invite the school health nurse to run a health information stand
- Involve the canteen early on in planning a healthy carnival menu
- Contact local businesses to ask for their support e.g. donating fresh vegetables and fruit
- Include health tips in the school newsletter or on the school website (download newsletter inserts here)
Hold a Crunch&Sip Break
- Faction captains to organise vegetable and fruit platters for each faction bay
- Remind students and parents that water is the best choice for hydration
- Play the Crunch&Sip rap during the Crunch&Sip break
Faction bays
- Encourage student leaders and teachers to model healthy behaviours to younger students
- Provide enough shade for all students all day
- Have SunSmart monitors for each faction check students for sun safety
- Have sunscreen available and ask older students to help re-apply sunscreen to younger students
Junk Food Free Event
- Make the carnival a junk food free day for students, parents and staff
- Encourage parents to pack healthy lunches and snacks and to reward children with non-food items such as a soccer ball, stickers, a high five or a kiss and cuddle
Canteen Lunches
- Think of healthy alternatives to the sausage sizzle e.g. corn on the cob, healthy burgers, vegie pikelets on the BBQ (use a squeezy bottle for mixture), fruit kebabs and toasted jaffles
- Offer a special meal deal that includes a healthy roll, piece of fruit, and water or reduced-fat milk