Health Project SIS- 2019
Healthy living is a concept which is commonly discussed today. Indeed, the rising concerns over health conditions like diabetes and obesity make this quite a relevant topic for today. Plenty of people all across the world are suffering with various health conditions, fuelled by unhealthy food habits.
As technology has taken over and convenience is highly sought after, more and more people have stopped relishing the joy of preparing meals at home. Instead, they opt for fast food. Younger generation too seems to highly favour unhealthy snacks and processed meats.
In this context, the Health Project which was conducted by SIS between the 14th and 18th of October was highly appreciated. The Health Week as it was aptly named, sought to instil a passion in young hearts for healthy eating. Throughout the week many workshops, activities and projects were carried out, with the aim of promoting healthy eating and healthy lifestyles among the student community.
From the youngest student to the oldest one, everyone took part in the activities of the Health Week enthusiastically. Needless to say, the parents of the students also made laudable efforts to make this project an immense success.
All parents were encouraged to send healthy snacks for their children throughout the week. Healthy snack options such as fruit kebabs, nuts, pancakes, waffles, baked beans, brown bread sandwiches, red rice, string hoppers, pittu, idli, dosa, chapathi, boiled gram, chickpeas and kidney beans were suggested to the parents.
The Science Faculty played a major role in organizing the events and activities relating to Health Week in the Middle School. The students actively took part in the activities which included making presentations, preparing healthy meals and making posters on the topic of “Healthy Family, Healthy Nation”.
The Japanese and French teachers also helped to enhance the knowledge of the students on the subject of healthy food in Japan and France. The sports instructors were also actively encouraging the students to eat healthy snacks, packed with the essential nutrients. The importance of eating food that makes you ‘fit not fat’ was heavily and attractively emphasised through these activities.
The Primary School also engaged in simple activities during the Health Week. The ‘Food Time’ which was organized for the students helped the little ones prepare and relish their own healthy snack.
This helped them to understand that preparing meals can indeed be quite fun. They were also given the understanding that healthy meals can be equally exciting as unhealthy food choices that the world was actively promoting to busy individuals.
The school canteen also refrained from selling unhealthy food options during this period. Doughnuts and eclairs, which were quite popular among the students were removed from the canteen. In their stead were brown bread sandwiches, chickpeas and other types of boiled gram.
A kola kendha kiosk was also installed in the school so more and more children would learn to appreciate the simple taste of this nutritious beverage. In order to encourage healthy eating habits, Roots and Magic Corn, two food companies in the country which promote healthy eating, also collaborated with Stafford International School.
The Health Week was indeed a successful event. As Stafford International School continues to shine among the international schools in Colombo, actions and initiatives such as this only enhance the stance of the school. While a number of local and international schools in Sri Lanka are only focusing on the education of the students, projects such as the Health Week, aim to create well rounded individuals.
