Glossary

Healthy School Community

individuals within the school (students, staff and administration); also individuals or organizations outside of the school setting who may contribute to the school (parents, public health stakeholders, neighbourhood associations, families, etc.).

Action plans

both formal or informal planning for creating a healthy school community. Some schools may have action plans specific to wellness activities, whereas other schools may incorporate wellness planning into other areas of planning.

Leader

an individual in the school community who motivates and engages students and staff to move toward the vision of a healthy school community. The individual may be from within the school (a student, staff member) or outside of the school (a parent, community member) – anyone who champions healthy school initiatives.

Effective partnerships are:

• Based on effective communication and strong interpersonal relationships;
• Fitting with the school’s focus on learning;
• Built on links between health and learning;
• Inclusive of common aims, objectives and goals;
• Appreciative of the role each member brings;
• Flexible; and
• Developed over time.

Social and Physical Environment

The social environment is:

• The quality of the relationships among and between staff and students in the school.
• The emotional well-being of students.
• Influenced by relationships with families and the wider community.

The physical environment includes:

• The buildings, grounds, play space, and equipment in and surrounding the school.
• Basic amenities such as sanitation and air cleanliness.

Teaching and Learning

includes resources, activities and provincial/territorial curriculum where students gain age-appropriate knowledge and experiences, helping to build the skills to improve their health and wellbeing.

Healthy School Policy

includes management practices, decision-making processes, rules, procedures and policies at all levels that promote health and well-being.

Partnerships and Services

Partnerships are:

• The connections between the school and students’ families.
• Supportive working relationships within schools (staff and students), between schools, and between schools and other community organizations and representative groups.
• Health, education and other sectors working together to advance school health.

Services are:

• Community and school based services that support and promote student and staff health and wellbeing.

Competency

refers to our need for recognizing and using our personal gifts and strengths in achieving personal goals. Fulfilment of this need provides individuals with a sense of personal achievement and accomplishment.

Autonomy

refers to our need for personal freedom to make choices or decisions that affect our lives. When this need is satisfied in conjunction with other need areas, freedom and choice are expressed in ways in which respect is demonstrated for self and others.