Acreman students get jump on learning - The Compass
January, 30 2008
Students at Acreman Elementary in Green's Harbour, Trinity Bay were literally jumping with excitement last week. Their enthusiasm came from learning all about how to prevent Type 2 Diabetes during an Everyone Jump Celebration Concert held in the gymnasium of their school. The concert was part of a contest sponsored by Ophea (Ontario Physical and Health Education Association) and Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. which challenges Grade 5 students from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador to demonstrate what they've learned about preventing Type 2 diabetes through regular physical activity and healthy eating. Everyone Jump...Kids Changing Diabetes is a teaching manual, music CD and an educational challenge that raises awareness of the ways that Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. Kids and teachers work through the teaching manual and music CD in the classroom, and students are invited to participate in an educational challenge -- to demonstrate what they've learned by designing a poster, writing a paragraph, composing song lyrics, or creating a physical activity for the classroom to accompany one of the songs on the Everyone Jump CD. "Everyone Jump is a resource that truly benefits both students and teachers," says Chris Markham, executive director, Ophea. "It is a fun and dynamic way to engage and educate kids about preventing Type 2 diabetes and it also provides teachers with lesson plans that help them meet their provincial curriculum requirements." Students were able to work on their submissions individually, in a group, or as an entire classroom. Over 9,500 students from 400 classrooms competed in the contest. However only 30 entries were selected as winners. Among them was a poster designed by Emily Manning, Cameron Pollett, Emma Oldford and Michael Cumby of Acreman Elementary. According to Emily Manning all four of the Grade 5 students in her group put a lot of work into the project. "We worked on our poster for one period in school and then we got together at Caneron's house to work on it some more. We each put our own ideas on how to prevent Type 2 diabetes into the design," she says. "We drew a person doing jumping jacks in the centre, because exercise is very important for the prevention of diabetes and we also included the four food groups. We also wrote some information on the bottom about diabetes and how eating well and exercising can help to prevent us from getting it." Emily says the idea of competing in the Everyone Jump Kids Changing Diabetes Contest came from her teacher, Tanya Hutchings. "We were learning about diabetes, the 2 types, what insulin is and how it affects our body during science class," said Emily. "Ms. Hutchings told us about the contest and we decided to take part. When we found out that our poster had won, we were so excited." Their creativity earned the students a plaque as well as a live concert for the entire school. The Everyone Jump Celebration concert, produced by Children's Hour Productions, is a dynamic musical performance that reinforces the lessons learned and gets the audience actively involved throughout the show. The performers were Emma Laird and Cara Stephenson, London, Ontario; Andrew Chandler, Halifax, Nova Scotia and Kevin Grenier, Barry, Ontario. Special meaning Approximately 85 students, their teachers and guests danced, sang and jumped along to the music, designed to broaden their knowledge on diabetes. The event was especially meaningful for Grade 5 student Kyra Cooper who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she was seven years old. Cooper, who wears an insulin pump, is the only student at Acreman with diabetes."The concert was a lot of fun but it also helped to educate everyone on diabetes," she says. "A lot of people still don't know and don't understand this disease. The concert helped all the students at my school learn more about it in a really fun way. I think everyone will remember this concert and what it was all about." This is the third consecutive year Ophea and Novo Nordisk has sponsored the contest. "Everyone Jump teaches kids the importance of healthy eating and regular physical activity at an early age," says Vince Lamanna, president of Novo Nordisk. "This is an interactive way to give kids the knowledge they need to make good choices that will ultimately benefit their long-term health." Grade 6 student Jordan Legge loved the songs and music and feels the concert gave him a better understanding of diabetes and how it affects his grandfather. "My Pop has it and I worry about him but I know now that he can control it through exercise and eating good," says Jordan. "It's really important to stay active and not to eat junk food all the time because that will help prevent diabetes."Ophea is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting Ontario school communities through advocacy, quality programs and services, and partnership building. The organization is committed to working in partnership with government and non-government organizations, and provides leadership and advocacy to foster active, healthy living in Ontario school communities. Ophea is led by the vision that all kids will value, participate in, and make a lifelong commitment to active, healthy living."
Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. partnered with Ophea to develop the Everyone Jump Concert Tour and implement it in schools in Ontario in 2005 and to four other provinces a short while later. Novo Nordisk is a healthcare company and a world leader in diabetes care and biopharmaceuticals. The company aims to defeat diabetes by finding better methods of diabetes prevention, detection and treatment. In Canada, Novo Nordisk is a leader in the insulin market with a wide range of products and services for diabetes care.