West Haven Public Schools participated in the 22nd Annual National Healthy Schools Day on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, by completing many activities to learn all about clean air.
National Healthy Schools Day is coordinated by Healthy Schools Network in partnership with many agencies and organizations. Together, they promote the use of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indoor Air Quality Tools for Schools guidance, as well as other EPA environmental health guidelines and programs for schools and children’s health.
Among the several activities that our teachers and students participated in was “hide and seek” with pollution, in which they could smell or see it at times as students had fun stirring their water to see if it was polluted, and investigative games to see which areas of the school would collect the most pollutants. During the investigative game, students made their predictions and then placed an index card with Aquaphor in each location. They will let the index cards sit for two weeks before collecting them and observing the results. These are just a few of the many activities our students and teachers participated in throughout the district.
Breathing clean air in schools allows every child to do better and every teacher to stay healthy. After taking steps to improve Indoor Air/Environmental Quality, schools will be better prepared for climate disasters and/or new infectious diseases, thus reducing the risks of more long-term school closures.
