Water is the cooler choice at this school
Simone Goodall has sugary drinks.
As the principal of a decile three Lower Hutt school, Goodall knows it is a big challenge but believes it is a fight worth winning. Randwick School has adopted a ‘‘water-only’’ policy that aims to replace fizzy drinks with water.
Becoming a ‘‘Water-Only School’’ is being promoted by Regional Public Health with the backing of a number of government agencies that aim to take fizz out of schools.
Too much sugar has obvious consequences such as diabetes and obesity but that is only half the story.
An article published in the Ministry of Education Gazette in March 2016 stated the impact of a sugary diet was much wider than just poor teeth.
‘‘Sugary drinks are one of the most significant causes of poor oral health and contribute to childhood obesity and type2 diabetes. Sugary drink consumption is associated with problem behaviours, and poor diet and nutrition are associated with lower academic achievement.’’
Statistics released by the Heart Foundation in support of the sugar-free message make grim reading.
Not only are one in three New Zealand children overweight or obese but our sugar intake is greatly exceeding World Health Organisation guidelines.
The WHO recommends that children should have no more than five teaspoons of sugar a day. The average 600ml bottle of soft drink contains 16 teaspoons of sugar.
Goodall is an enthusiastic supporter of the water-only policy, first introduced in the 160-student school in 2016.
‘‘The teachers have noticed better concentration and work habits … parents have commented very favourably on the water-only initiative and are extremely supportive.’’
For Goodall, the real advantage of getting declared war on rid of fizzy and energy drinks was the impact on learning. When children were properly hydrated and not having the highs associated with sugary drinks, they performed much better in the classroom. ‘‘It is about brain power and having healthy brains.’’
When she first floated the idea in 2016, Goodall encountered some initial opposition from students. Parents were ‘‘dead keen’’ and, other than a few kids sneaking in fizzy drinks, the students had come to embrace it.
Strictly speaking the school was not water only. ‘‘We believe that if we have a disco, it is OK for kids to have a treat, that is how it works in the real world.’’
The school had always banned fizzy drinks but had a problem with energy drinks that were bought on the way to school.
Randwick has five water fountains and allows water bottles in classrooms.
One person who takes the water-only message seriously is Ella Withers. The 7-year-old is firm in her response that water is her favourite drink. When asked what she would drink if it was not water, she replied milk and rejected any suggestion that she would want soft drinks. ‘‘My mum would not let me but I don’t like them anyway.’’
Anarangi Faiumu Heura, 7, is another committed water drinker who does not like fizzy drinks. ‘‘I just drink lemon juice with no sugar.’’
Kate Langford-Ussher, 10, enjoys drinking water, a trait she learnt from her parents. If she had an alternative, she also liked fruit juice. ‘‘I don’t drink fizzy drinks. They are disgusting.’’
Parent Emily Benefield said the initiative was ‘‘fantastic’’ and made life much easier for her. ‘‘It is good they all get water because he (her son Max) can’t say ‘so and so gets juice’.’’
Regional Public Health is promoting the Water-Only School Toolkit to all schools in the region. As well as emphasising the health benefits of water, it is pushing the message that it improves the performance of students.
Another school that has taken the water-only message seriously is Otaki College. The school runs its own canteen on a non-profit basis, with an emphasis on healthy food. After surveying parents, it made changes to the canteen that had changed the students’ eating habits.
Principal Andy Fraser said it no longer sold soft drinks and it promoted water by having it at eye level and in a prominent place in the fridge.
It reduced the size of the fruit juices it sold and used the Fonterra milk scheme.
Otaki New World supported its policy by being a uniform-free zone during school hours. Having New World on board had made a big difference in reducing the amount of soft drink that students brought to school.
Anti-sugar man, C3
"It is about brain power and having healthy brains." Randwick School principal Simone Goodall