Somers Primary School reaps what it sows: students thrive thanks to healthy habits


 

Somers Primary School on the Mornington Peninsula has received Victorian Government recognition for the Achievement Program’s Health Priority Area of Healthy Eating and Oral Health.   

 

Currently, only one in fifteen Victorian children meet the recommended daily intake of fruit and vegetables1, putting them at risk of poor health in the future. Somers Primary School set out to change this by implementing a healthy eating strategy aimed at improving students’ nutrition.

 

A few key components of the school’s strategy include:

  • a Kitchen Garden program enabling students to reap the health benefits of planting and producing their own fruit and vegetables
  • a weekly free fruit delivery
  • only selling healthy and nutritious food items at school events
  • reviewing and developing a best-practice healthy eating policy.

Somers Primary School’s teamwork is shown in the way it encourages teachers to practice what they preach – urging them to reflect on their own habits and adhere to policies that created a healthier space.

 

Staff members welcomed the school’s decision to remove soft drinks from the staff room and completed healthy eating professional development training delivered by Peninsula Health.

 

Somers Primary School principal Hugh Greer said they were thrilled with achieving the Achievement Program’s ‘Healthy Eating and Oral Health’ Health Priority Area and recognises that this milestone is thanks to the whole community.  

 

“The success of our strategies has been an ongoing community effort, with input from staff, students and their families. We’re proud of the steps we’ve taken to enhance the health and wellbeing of our community, our kitchen garden means our students can eat healthy produce they’ve helped to grow,” Mr Greer said.

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