Welcome to the Ever Active Schools Blog!
We are pleased to present healthy school community stories surrounding thought leadership, health champions and innovative ideas, all supporting healthy school communities through a Comprehensive School Health lens.
Want to contribute to our blog? Contact us with your idea!
Why should school communities promote active transportation modes for school travel? Some data to consider: According to the baseline Family Travel Survey collected by Ever Active Schools between 2019 and 2024 in Alberta, 32.8% of families (n=6190 responses) use active modes of transportation most often for trips to school, while 36.7% of families (n=6403 responses)…
Read More
Reflecting on Stories from the Field As Ever Active Schools, we are often in so many places in a school year, that it’s hard to sit back and reflect on some of the moments and impacts we had in communities. So we sat down to collect “Stories from the Field” from some of our amazing…
Read More
Written By Chesa Peters, Ever Active Schools It’s teacher appreciation week and we want to show some love to our EAS BFFs – the EAC! (Enough acronyms for you?) The EAC, or Educator Advisory Council, is a group of all-star Educators who help guide our work. This council is approaching its first birthday and it’s…
Read More
Written by Tracey Coutts, Ever Active Schools Welcome Earth Day! “Earth Day is an annual celebration that…raises awareness of the need to protect Earth’s natural resources for future generations.” (National Geographic, Education: Earth Day, 2024). The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970; today, Earth Day is celebrated on either April 22 or…
Read More
Written by: Katie Mahon, Ever Active Schools Have you heard? Ever Active Schools launched a podcast in late 2020 called The Podclass. Intended as an educational resource, our hosts chat with professionals in health, education, inclusion and diversity, and well-being to explore connections between the three. The first series, Conversations on School Health, is…
Read More
Written by: Tracey Coutts and Katie Mahon, Ever Active Schools Has this ever happened to you… You invite people to your favourite place, maybe it’s a pizza parlour, a place known for its delicious pizza but, just as your guests start to pour through the door, the parlour runs out of cheese. Like, completely.…
Read More
Different Location, Same Shaping the Future! 15 years of Shaping the Future. 15 years of memories, connection and learning all in the name of creating healthy communities and schools. This year, the annual Shaping the Future conference sponsored by Teach Nutrition and Belair Direct may have been held in a different location, but the atmosphere…
Read More
Writers: Trevor Henderson, Black Gold School Division Wellness Lead, with support from Tracey Coutts and Shauna Miller-Shaker Ever Active School supports many Active School Travel (AST) projects across the province which boast some pretty amazing outcomes, one of which continues to shine in Leduc, Alberta. In 2020/2021, Black Gold School Division Wellness Lead, Trevor…
Read More
Written by Kerri Murray, Director of Strategy and Innovation, Ever Active Schools Sometimes it is difficult to describe what we do. When asked by someone new, the conversation usually goes something like this: “So, what do you do?” “I work for a charity that does school-based health promotion.” “Are you a teacher?” “No.” “Are you…
Read More
In 2023, Ever Active Schools launched its Youth Advisory Council (YAC): a group of enthusiastic youth in Alberta and Saskatchewan who provide feedback and personal opinions, engage in discussions around the work of Ever Active Schools, represent the organization at events, and co-develop projects with the staff. Members of the YAC are between the ages…
Read More
Healthy Schools Certification: How You Can Make a Difference in Your School Are you looking for a school-based program that everyone can feel good about? What if you could find one that promotes student leadership, enhances student and staff well-being and builds on what’s already happening in your school? How about if the program coincided…
Read More
Winter cycling may seem exotic and strange, but if you’ve ever biked in the warmer weather, or cross-country skied, snowshoed, or even walked outside in the winter, you’re 89.6% prepared to ride your bike in winter! How so, you might ask? Well: You already own the clothing. You know how to dress in layers so you…
Read More
Ahh, lesson planning: an all-important yet thankless task for teachers. You spend hours pouring over activities, making sure they connect to the curriculum and your targeted outcomes, and you hope your whole class will be invested and enjoy them. Wouldn’t it be nice if, once in a while, you could take all the time and…
Read More
The municipality of Leduc, Alta., has laid much groundwork to make it an active living superstar. From its 85 km+ of multi-use pathways, to Telford Lake, to its Parks, Open Spaces, and Trails Master Plan – when it comes to active living, Leduc has some good bones. It is clear that Leduc prioritizes wellness, but…
Read More
The air was filled with excitement and anticipation as the doors to the 2023 Running Shoe Gala opened. It was a night of giving back, a night filled with laughter, games, and a healthy dose of altruism. Hosted for the first time in Calgary, Ever Active Schools welcomed over 100 guests to celebrate and contribute to…
Read More
Written by Tracey Coutts, Ever Active Schools Watching young cyclists discover the freedom and thrill that comes with learning how to confidently navigate new neighbourhood and community routes is the equivalent of reading about C. S. Lewis’ Lucy moving deeper into the wardrobe, brushing past fur coats that transform to fir tree branches, on her…
Read More
On a chilly spring morning in March 2023 in Medicine Hat, Alberta, a group of new Canadian children and youth gathered to play, learn and connect. As part of Ever Active Schools’ Resettlement Through Recreation project, supported by several amazing partner organizations, this celebratory day filled the cups of everyone present – quite literally for many,…
Read More
In the 2022/2023 school year, Ever Active Schools and Canadian Tire Jumpstart entered into a multi-year partnership centered around the dream that everybody plays. Through this work, we are providing: 100% opportunity to participate so that everybody plays. Focus on priority populations so that everybody plays. Capacity building through grassroots approaches so that everybody plays.…
Read More
The new Alberta K-6 curriculum has certainly been a hot topic, and we’ve heard a lot of questions about the Physical Education and Wellness (PEW) section. The biggest question: how do I teach this Alberta K-6 curriculum without losing active time with my class? Never fear: Ever Active Schools is here! We’ve compiled 8 games…
Read More
Another Shaping the Future is in the books! The 14th annual Shaping the Future conference, sponsored by TeachNutrition.ca, has officially come to a close. The team at Ever Active Schools is both exhausted and grateful! This year, we sold out weeks in advance, confirming what we already know: investing in healthy futures for all children…
Read More
