Environment+and+Ethos

**__ Environment and Ethos __**  The Healthy Activity day proposal outlined the importance of recognising the schools current ethos and environment and also the schools policies. As part of the healthy activities day we aimed to support the school in terms of their beliefs to ensure that we were teaching in a safe and supportive environment. Supporting Rushworth P-12's ethos and environment was really important throughout our whole day and we focused a large percentage of our planning time ensuring that we would be able to do this. Each activity that was run on the day had individual differences in terms of the way that ethos and environment was addressed, however overall every group member focused on adhering to Rushworth's P-12 beliefs of treating every student 'as an individual and encouraging them to develop a high level of achievement.' ([]) = =  In the boxing activity we used the outdoor classroom which was a great facility, especially seeing as Rushworth P-12 is a sunsmart school. When setting up the area we had to create a safe environment and tables and chairs were moved to the edges of the undercover area to create an open space where boxing could be run. When the activity started the students were informed of dangers associated with boxing and were given a rundown on the correct way to use equipment. As well as this they were also informed of the types of behaviour that was expected from them for the duration of the activity.

= = The pilates group was run in a classroom as it looked as if it was going to rain and this was a safer option causing less disruption during the activity if it did start raining. Similar to the boxing activity an area needed to be cleared with tables being pushed right to the edge of the room so that they were not putting any students at risk of them falling. As pilates was a new activity to most students the leaders made sure that they gave the students as much positive feedback as possible and recognised students who may have needed any extra help in a bid to give each student the best possible chance to do the best that they could do. = =  As the two health activities were quite personal peer support was strongly encouraged. Leaders of these groups had a positive and supportive attitude and set a strong rule of no put downs as this was seen as a risk when conducting activities dealing with self esteem and choices. = =  The cooking activities were all healthy recipes which adhered to the schools 'Healthy Foods Policy.' It was important that we chose foods which did not contradict this policy due to the fact that we were aiming to support the values and beliefs of the school. As there were a lot of students in the kitchen risk management was an issue, however after moving one group to a classroom there seemed to be enough room so that it was a safe environment. Each of the cooking groups needed to identify safety hazards and remind the students about kitchen saftey to further reduce injury risk. = =  Overall the day was about encouraging the students to have a go, even though many of the activities were new to them. As visitors to the school we aimed to coincide with the values and beliefs of the school to create a fun and exciting day. We believed that by doing this the students may be motivated to make changes to both their physical and emotional health. By building relationships with other staff members at the school our ideas could be used for further work or ideas in the classroom. = = = = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">