Samantha Jones
University of Calgary
ASSIGNMENT 1: PART B: ACTION PLAN
2
Action Plan
1. Objective
The objective of my program is to have students, teachers, and administration create posters and
resources to display in classrooms and throughout the school to encourage and build upon
creating a positive and safe community within the community of Glenbrook Elementary. Within
each classroom, students will create a visual representation of what they believe exemplifies the
seven components of health; those being physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual,
occupational, and environmental, (Russell-Mayhew, 2018) are and how these can be enacted in
our school community with, first, discussing and being instructed on the components of health in
With the permission of administration and parents, and following the creation of a visual with
students, I would like to further the program by creating a twitter or blog, to be monitored by a
positive wellness can be posted. This post should not include images of students, names, or any
other specific identifying information which could put a student at risk or be identified by an
individual outside the school community. The purpose of a blog or Twitter feed is to include
parents in our school community and bring awareness to them on the positive actions taking
place in their child’s school. As I am not a certified teacher or a full member of staff at my field
school, I do not believe I would be allowed to be responsible for the creation of a blog or twitter
page which would be discussing student actions in their school community. As such, I would
2. Opportunities
Benefits
Students
Students will benefit from this program as they will be positively connecting with, first, members
of their classroom community (classmates and classroom teacher) and, secondly as the project
extends, members of the entire school community (all remaining students, teachers, staff,
administration, and parents). Students will also be working collaboratively with classmates to
combine ideas on what they believe makes for a positive school community. This extends to the
building of comprehensive school health in the school as students are taking action in building a
more positive social and physical environment for themselves as well as the school community.
Teacher
As this program does cover requirements under the program of studies, teachers would benefit
from using it as a way to both engage students, cover what students should learn, and provide
students with a real-world connection as the idea is to build upon strengthening student
Parents
With students work being posted online (as under the permission of school administration and
parents), parents will be involved in conversation with their children on occurrences within the
school community and, aside from being present in the school during parent-teacher conference
sessions, parents will have a visual representation and make a connection with their child both on
a visual bases and through conversation. The Wellness Fund Handbook (2014) states that “the
ASSIGNMENT 1: PART B: ACTION PLAN
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school community should support responsible lifestyle choices for students and help them to
take ownership of their own emotional, intellectual, physical, spiritual and social well-being,”
students can bring these growths into their home and parents can observe the impacts of teaching
3. Threats
FOIP
As this project involves posting student work on a school-run blog, parents must give
permission for their children to participate as the child’s work completed within the school could
be displayed online, even though any said blog or school-run Twitter/social media will not
include any direct identification of the child, such as names or images, parents will still have the
Funding
As students are working on posters, they may require extra art materials to complete this project.
As such, the school may not have a budget to supply the extra materials students would need to
Time
During my time in schools as a student teacher, I have noticed the limited time teachers possess
to provide instruction to their students and cover the requirements provided under the program of
studies. As I believe this program would take extra time for students to complete, teachers may
believe this to be an activity which takes away from other areas of study deemed more necessary
4a. Strengths
In relation to this program, my strengths come from a background in fine arts. I will be able to
successfully guide students through creatively expressing the ideas they wish to represent
visually of their school community and, having knowledge of the components of health, will also
have the knowledge and skill to guide students to develop positive attitudes and ideas for
representing these components in the visuals they will create together. I also have knowledge and
skills relating to social media and blogging, which I can use to assist a certified teacher or
4b. Weaknesses
A weakness, in relation to this program, that I possess is not fully being a member of the school
community and not being able to continue or contribute the project when my time in the school
5. Research
The S4 program (Start Smart, Stay Safe) is a program created and orchestrated by the Calgary
Catholic Board of Education, and Mount Royal University. This program brings a police officer,
usually the officer designated for the district, into schools to talk to and educate children and the
community. This is from the website explaining more about the program:
“Today, children need to know how to adapt and thrive in their changing world. Children
need to learn how to build healthy relationships for their safety and personal well-being.
They need to learn how to develop problem solving skills and respectful communication
skills. These skills are needed in their face-to-face and on-line relationships.” (Calgary
This program is directly similar to my program as it has been discussed in my school, however,
during my time in field three, I have not observed evidence of the program being used in the
school with students aside from being told that they have had an officer visit each classroom one
time.
6. Curricular Connections
This program will have curricular connections through social studies, English language arts,
health and wellness, and art. As my current field four practicum placement is with a grade one
and two combined classroom, I will be applying curricular connections from these grades. My
field four class of grade one and two students will then be ambassadors for the program in our
school community.
Grade One
W-1.7 describe actions to use in unsafe or abusive situations; e.g., say no, get away, tell someone
you trust and keep telling until someone believes you
W-1.8 determine reasons for and apply safety rules at home and at school; e.g., demonstrate fire
safety behaviours
ASSIGNMENT 1: PART B: ACTION PLAN
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W-1.9 describe and apply appropriate street safety behaviours in the community; e.g., as a
pedestrian, passenger, cyclist
W-1.10 recognize community helpers, and identify how to seek their help; e.g., appropriate use
of 911
References
Alberta Education. (2000). Health and Life Skills Kindergarten to Grade 9. Retrieved from
https://education.alberta.ca/media/160196/health.pdf
Alberta Education (2005). Social Studies Kindergarden to Grade 12. Retrieved from
https://education.alberta.ca/media/159594/program-of-studies-k-3.pdf
Calgary Police Service (2018). Start Smart, Stay Safe. Retrieved from http://startsmartstaysafe.ca
Government of Alberta. (2007). Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP)
Using and Disclosing Personal Information in School Jurisdictions. Retrieved from
https://www.servicealberta.ca/foip/documents/PerInfoSchool.pdf
Joint Consortium for School Health. (n.d.) What is comprehensive school health? Retrieved from
http://www.jcsh-cces.ca/images/What_is_Comprehensive_School_Health_-_2-pager_-
_July_2016.pdf
Wellness Fund (2014). Developing Healthy School Communities Handbook. Retrieved from
http://www.wellnessfund.ualberta.ca/~/media/abhealthyschools/Wellness_Fund_Handbook_2
015-English.pdf