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Schools throughout Australia are celebrating Health and Physical Education (HPE) Day today (9th September), marking the health and wellbeing of children across the nation.

The annual nationwide event is designed to raise awareness of the value of HPE in the Australian Curriculum and highlight the important role it plays in the learning and development of children, the benefit to all schools, and the educative value to the wider community.

Organised by the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (ACHPER), this year's day is focusing on encouraging schools to get involved as part of a theme celebrated over three consecutive years from 2014 - 2016 being: Good for Children, Good for Schools, Good for Communities.

Former Australian long distance runner and teacher, Steve Moneghetti is just one of our Ambassadors for National HPE Day in 2015.

Explaining how pleasing it is to have seen how HPE Day had sparked significant interest from metropolitan and regional schools, Moneghetti stated "we have seen registrations from schools in every state and territory, and the type of activities that they are planning ranges from fun runs, to dance-a-thons, and everything in between – but the one common goal across everything that is being planned is to do things that will get kids more active.

“HPE Day isn’t designed to be about playing a particular sport, who wins or who might lose – this is a national day that is about getting active and having fun, in the hope that it encourages children to embrace a healthy lifestyle and reap the rewards in the years to come.

“We know that health and physical education in a school’s curriculum can make a significant impact on the learning potential and wellbeing of all children, and in addition to being a benefit to schools, it can also make a valuable contribution to the wider community because active and healthy young people are the best investment we can make in the future.”

ACHPER National Executive Director Alison Turner believes that parents need to play a role in getting their children more active and help to shake off Australia’s unenviable reputation as being amongst the worst in the world for inactive school-aged children.

Turner stated “this year we have introduced a ‘Parent Pledge’, where parents and caregivers can make a commitment to their children to be a positive role model by spending a minimum of 30 minutes being active with them on HPE Day.

“We know that 80% of 5-17 year olds are not participating in at least 60 minutes of exercise each day, and that is simply unacceptable – so it is up to families, schools and the community to work together to tackle this important problem,” she said.

“Because most children’s waking hours are spent sitting at school and at home, we need to integrate opportunities to get them to be more active as part of everyday life – and HPE Day is designed to help children become resilient, strong decision makers and to be proactive when it comes to their physical and mental health.”

In NSW, Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres has encouraged involvement in the day, stating “an educated State, comprising active and healthy young people, is the best investment we can make in the future.

“The day aims to highlight the importance of HPE and the impact on the learning potential and wellbeing of all children, the benefit to all schools and the valuable contribution to the wider community.”

In NSW, Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres has encouraged involvement in the day, stating “an educated State, comprising active and healthy young people, is the best investment we can make in the future.

ACHPER is the leading professional association representing teachers and other professionals working in the fields of health and physical education in Australia. ACHPER’s purpose is to promote active and healthy living for all Australians, particularly young people, through education and quality professional practice.

For further information about HPE Day go to the website at www.hpeday.com.au

For further information on ACHPER go to www.achper.org.au.

Images courtesy of ACHPER.

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