St. Christopher student’s diabetes education poster singled out - Burlington Post
April, 03 2009
A local elementary school student has been named a winner in a contest aimed at educating students about Type 2 diabetes. St. Christopher School Grade 5 pupil Alyssa Hodgson was one of 35 youths across Canada, 24 of them in Ontario, awarded a grand prize in the Everyone Jump Educational Challenge.Everyone Jump is a partnership between the Ontario Physical and Health Education Association (OPHEA) and Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. to teach Grade 5 students about preventing type 2 diabetes through regular physical activity and healthy eating.
This year, more than 16,650 students registered to take part in the Educational Challenge.
The Grade 5 students at St. Christopher worked on posters or DVDs related to Type 2 diabetes. Hodgson’s poster was singled out as one of 35 individual winners across Canada. For winning, she earned for her school one of 35 Celebration Concerts. At the concert for St. Christopher, held Wednesday, Hodgson was presented with a recognition plaque.
“This year, more than 16,650 students across Canada learned about diabetes through the Everyone Jump Educational Challenge,” said Chris Markham, executive director of OPHEA, in a news release.
“So many kids are participating because Everyone Jump is a fun, interactive way to engage and educate kids about preventing type 2 diabetes, and it’s easy for teachers to use in the classroom.”
Everyone Jump was launched in 2005 to build awareness of the importance of regular physical activity and healthy eating as a way to prevent type 2 diabetes. Now, the resource is available to every public and Catholic elementary school in Ontario, as well as selected schools in four other provinces.
The program is designed for children and teachers to work through classroom lessons supported by music about diabetes. Students also design a poster to raise awareness of diabetes or create a physical activity to accompany one of the Everyone Jump songs, and make a video or poster of the actions.
“Type 2 diabetes remains one of the most pressing health crises facing young Canadians today,” said Vince Lamanna, president of Novo Nordisk Canada, a diabetes care company. “Everyone Jump helps children understand the importance of healthy eating and regular physical activity in a simple and relevant way to help prevent type 2 diabetes,” he said.
Hodgson’s winning poster, and that of other winners, can be viewed at: www.opheaprograms.net/EJ/winning_entries/advertising_posters/ .