The Dunearn PE Department’s B.L.O.O.M. programme is a school-initiated health education and promotion programme focusing monthly on different organs of the human body and its impact on the students.
The objectives of the programme are to inculcate an awareness of the impact of dietary practices, sedentary lifestyle, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse on health and to highlight students’ personal responsibility for their health, and to encourage diet and lifestyle changes that promote good health.
B.L.O.O.M. was launched in March 2008 with the unveiling of wall murals in the canteen that feature different organs of the human body with pertinent health-related information. Assembly talks, flyers in classroom displays and school’s CCTV in the canteens and school premises were used as other channels of information for the organ of that month.
An initial evaluation of the B.L.O.O.M. programme showed an increase in students’ knowledge and understanding in relation to healthy eating and lifestyle choices as well as an awareness of their personal responsibility for health and fitness. Student reflections have provided qualitative data that indicates an encouraging level of student engagement in the programme’s activities and in the application of the health-related knowledge gained.