Health Information at Ōtūmoetai Intermediate School

In health education, students develop their understanding of the factors that influence the health of individuals, groups and society. They will:

• Develop competencies for mental wellness and safety management.
• Develop understandings of nutritional needs.
• Build resilience through strengthening their personal identity and sense of self-worth, through managing change and loss, and through engaging in processes for responsible decision-making.
• Learn to demonstrate empathy and develop skills that will enhance relationships.

Students use these skills and understandings to take critical action to promote personal, interpersonal and societal well-being.

(New Zealand Curriculum, page 23)

School-wide, we have an unrelenting focus on a culture of care and personal responsibility. All students have a right to a safe physical, emotional and social environment in which to learn and interact with their peers. This means everyone looking out for each other, showing respect for themselves and others and making safe choices.

For us, health education is also about enabling students to build life skills where they can identify unsafe situations in an increasingly complex world and know how to keep themselves safe. Health and well-being units are taught in both Year 7 and Year 8 throughout the year and woven into other curriculum areas wherever possible.

Year 7 Programme
This is aimed at levels 3 and 4 of the New Zealand Curriculum. In this programme students will:

• Describe the characteristics of pubertal change and discuss positive adjustment strategies.
• Describe how social messages and stereotypes, including those in the media, can affect feelings of self-worth.
• Understand and describe constructive use of the internet and mobile technologies.
• Understand and discuss the potential impact of cyberbullying and online activities, thus preventing them from becoming victims or perpetrators.
• Investigate and describe lifestyle factors and media influences that contribute to the well-being of people.
• Identify individual responsibility and take collective action for the care and safety of other people in our school and in the wider community.

Parents will be invited to a meeting later in the year where resources used in this course will be shared and a discussion held.

Year 8 Programme
This is aimed at levels 4 and 5 of the New Zealand Curriculum. In this programme students will:

• Access and use information to make and action safe choices in the context of personal safety involving drugs and social interactions.
• Describe how social messages and stereotypes, including those in the media, can affect feelings of self-worth.
• Identify the effects of changing situations, roles and responsibilities on relationships and describe appropriate responses.
• Understand and describe constructive use of the internet and mobile technology.
• Understand and discuss the potential impact of cyberbullying and online activities, thus preventing them becoming victims or perpetrators.
• Recognise instances of discrimination and act responsibly to support their own rights and feelings and those of other people (link to Human Rights – Social Sciences).
• Investigate and describe lifestyle factors and media influences that contribute to the well-being of people.
• Identify individual responsibility and take collective action for the care and safety of other people in our school and in the wider community.

Sexuality Education
During previous consultation with parents, our parents overwhelmingly felt that secondary school was the appropriate time to cover topics such as contraception, sexually transmitted diseases and other sexuality topics. We do, however, cover self-image in both Year 7 and 8, especially around the influences of media on individuals.

Keeping Ourselves Safe
We use John Parsons from Citizen21 Ltd to present to all students around cyber safety. John will be visiting our school on Tuesday 4th April 2023 and is also talking to parents, caregivers and interested community members at 7:00pm in the school hall. See the Keeping Ourselves Safe article for more information about John.