Schools across Calderdale have been getting moving as part of a borough-wide competition for the #activecdale Schools Cup.
The Schools Cup competition runs until Friday 23 March to coincide with the BBC’s Sport Relief Week. Schools have been uploading their photos and messages to twitter showing how they’re taking part in physical activity.
Each school is battling for the most likes and retweets for their messages, with the winner scooping the #activecdale Schools Cup.
Research shows that being active can help increase young people’s confidence, connect with others and make friends, as well as perform better academically. The idea behind the competition is to show how physical activity can easily be incorporated into the school day, both in PE lessons and outside the classroom. Pupils have been using snowballs for target practice at break times; taking part in a skipping festival and even incorporating dance moves into a Religious Education lesson!
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Inequalities, Cllr Faisal Shoukat, said:
“The #activecdale Schools Cup is a great way for schools to incorporate activity into their normal school day and children are really enjoying getting involved.
“Our Active Calderdale movement is all about helping people live healthier, happier and longer lives. We want to be the most active borough in the north by 2021 and by getting schools involved we can help our children to be more active now and in the future.”
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, Cllr Megan Swift, said:
“Schools work hard to ensure that children are as active as possible and pupils have the opportunity to try lots of different activities within their PE lessons.
“The #activecdale Schools Cup is bringing movement into lots of different school areas, not just PE. Schools are coming up with some really innovative ways to get moving, such as standing up throughout a maths class. Small changes like this all help us to become more active and improve our health.”
To see how schools are getting involved and to help your favourite tweet achieve the #activecdale Schools Cup search for #activecdale on twitter. You can also use the hashtag to join in the active conversation.