Teachers
National Healthy Bones Week is designed to promote bone health, especially among growing children. Go to www.dairy.edu.au/discoverdairy for background information on bone health and to download student activity sheets for use in your classroom.
Canteens
About the competition
If you believe your school canteen should be voted Australia’s Best and win $2,000, help your child to vote (competition is now over). Your child could also win a $100 Rebel Sport voucher. Runner up State best school canteens will be awarded $500 each and winning voters will each receive a $50 Rebel Sport voucher.
Voting Tips
Encouraging students to vote for your school canteen does not have to cost a fortune. Get students, teachers and parents involved with some of these simple and effective ideas …
Make the canteen fun
It’s easy to brighten up the canteen with some light blue and white streamers! Hang them from the ceiling or loop them around the canteen window.
Why not put up a chalkboard to highlight ‘specials’ of the day. Provide a selection of blue and white coloured chalks and the students can even decorate the board each day.
Dress the tables with blue and white cloths and hand out blue and white straws with every glass/carton of milk.
Talk to the art and class teachers and let ‘Healthy Bones’ be the subject of all artwork that week. Displays of students work are a colourful reminder of key messages.
Highlight dairy on the menu
Offer special snack deals or re-name favourite foods i.e. The Healthy Bone Builder Special — Cheese sandwich with a milk.
Have daily/weekly smoothie specials.
Put a suggestion box in the canteen and let students suggest meal ideas and specials made with dairy foods. Name the special after the student who suggests it i.e. Christopher’s Cheesy Club.
Include canteen updates in the school newsletter so that parents encourage their children to support National Healthy Bones Week and your chance of winning $2,000.
Encourage teachers to build dairy into their curriculum during the week and the winner’s of pop quizzes can be given a free milk, yogurt or cheese sandwich.
For recipe ideas visit www.dairy.edu.au/discoverdairy
Other ideas
If you have a dairy farm nearby, talk to the farmer and try to get him/her to bring a cow to school during lunch playtime.
If your canteen has the capability, put in a computer especially for students to get online and vote for your canteen. Make the home page www.healthybones.com.au
Don’t forget to put up your National Healthy Bones Week Poster, hand out your stickers and wear your badge so that the students get online and vote!
