Draft Groups Media Release for Healthy Schools Day

Peter ChurchHealthy Schools Day Parliamentary and Legislature Statements

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DRAFT

For IMMEDIATE RELEASE  –  date

Your city/province

 

The Sixth Annual, National

HEALTHY SCHOOLS DAY in CANADA – la Journée des écoles saines du Canada

will be Tuesday, April 8, 2014

 

Describe your event

 

Why a National Healthy Schools Day?

  1. Many schools have problems linked to indoor air quality (IAQ).
  2. Children are more vulnerable to environmental hazards.
  3. Children spend an average of 30 to 50 hours per week in school.
  4. Staff spend even more time in their school workplaces.
  5. Poor indoor environmental quality is associated with a wide rage of problems that include respiratory Illnesses and poor concentration leading to poor learning.
  6. Asthma studies show up to 13% and in some areas 17% of school age children have asthma, the leading cause of school absenteeism, accounting for thousands of missed school days each year, and high costs to the medical system.
  7. Many studies have found positive health impacts from improved indoor air quality.
  8. Healthy new and existing schools provide cleaner air and reduced exposures to toxic substances, provide a healthier and safer learning environment for children, and improved academic achievement and well-being.
  9. Research suggests that children attending schools in good condition score 5 to 10 percent higher on standardized tests than students who attend schools in poor condition.
  10. Studies show that resources put into improving indoor environment quality have a rapid pay back.
  11. Our Country’s school boards commonly make very difficult decisions between cutting back much needed academic programs vs. cutting back on needed building maintenance.
  12. Federal and provincial governments have demonstrated interest in this important issue by developing programs like the Tools for Schools IAQ Action Kit, creating data, information and conferences on school indoor air quality; and are working to provide healthier schools every day.
  1. Our schools have the great responsibility of guiding the future of our children, who are our country’s

greatest resource.

 

More than thirty organizations from across Canada came together declaring April 27, 2009 the first national Healthy Schools Day in Canada – Journée des écoles saines du Canada to focus on indoor environments such as indoor air quality in schools across Canada.

 

The purpose of the day will be to foster improvements, celebrate successes, and create projects that make indoor environments of new and existing schools the best they can be.  Each year, Canadians will be encouraged to develop projects big or small to celebrate Healthy Schools Day in Canada and improve school indoor environments.

 

Healthy Schools Day in Canada is for all Canadians!

Healthy Schools Day in Canada – Journée des écoles saines du Canada will give citizens, students, teachers, parents, organizations, school boards, and all Canadians, an opportunity to focus on school buildings’ indoor environment quality to benefit the health and learning ability of our country’s school children and protect the health of workers in Canadian Schools.

 

To arrange interviews or for more information please contact:

Your contact info:

 

The Healthy Schools Day in Canada web page is: (insert website, name of contact person and contact information)

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