Under the leadership of Bull Creek, Principal Sharon Marchenko, a school priority in 2023/24 has been to improve the physical health of all students in 2 key areas: Diet and Nutrition and Fitness, with the support from Healthway WA.
To this end, Sharon contacted Dr Garry Tester CEO of Sports Challenge Australia to establish some objective baseline data for both components with reporting to all staff and families.
Using world leading measures Sports Challenge has now completed all testing and reporting and delivered workshops to all stakeholders.
The Results in Diet and Nutrition showed:
Good knowledge of fruit, vegetables and grains.
However high fat, salt and sugar foods were shown.
Some trends in favourite foods:
As a result of the surveys and workshops, Bull Creek has embarked upon changing the type of food served in the canteen. Healthy lunch boxes are promoted for families, a sip and crunch program has been instigated.
To further reinforce the importance of good physical activity (fitness) Sports Challenge tested the whole school population on a 7-item fitness battery. This has not only provided excellent baseline data for the school, but also provided each parent with an individual report showing their children’s scores compared to the mean of fellow students by age and gender, along with Australia wide means from the Sports Challenge data base of over 77,000 students, the largest in the world (See below).
Now armed with good objective data, buy in from staff and families there is now a two-pronged attack to improve diet and nutrition, along with fitness levels throughout the school community.
Well done Bull Creek and Thank you to Healthway WA for their valued support.