Life Education capturing children’s imagination
Among many of the events postponed until later this year due to Covid-19 was the Western Bay of Plenty Life Education Trust fundraising breakfast, of which Wright Family Foundation is a sponsor.
The Life Education programme has been operating in the Western Bay of Plenty, from Katikati to Ōtamarākau, since 1993.
Two specialist educators, Machelle and Michael, visit primary and intermediate schools with their mobile classrooms and the programme’s lovable mascot Harold the giraffe to deliver sequential year-on-year, age-appropriate lessons that address a range of issues and empower children to make safer and healthier choices – now and in the future.
The mobile classrooms are used to capture children’s imagination in a unique learning environment, with a programme covering five main themes: food and nutrition, human biology, relationships and community, identity and resilience, and substances.
Students’ experiences are fun, engaging and memorable, and no one ever forgets how Harold the giraffe encouraged them to make good choices for themselves and others.
Golden Sands School principal Melanie Taylor says the school has used the programme in 2020 to support children’s understanding of friendships and how to be healthy with their eating.
“Because the programme is engaging, our children are always enthusiastic participants. Life Education Trust offers a valuable addition to the New Zealand Curriculum, and because the children really connect with Harold, the content is remembered.”
Te Puna School principal Neil Towersey says in this day and age, with the growing demand for schools to address health and wellbeing issues, there has never been a greater need for the support of Life Education.
“Life Education is unique in its capacity to deliver health-promoting messages by trained professionals in age-appropriate ways. The programme encourages family participation and extends its influence into the wider community.”
To find out more about Life Education and how you can support the programme visit lifeeducation.org.nz