This term the Health and Wellbeing student leadership team have focused on promoting sun safety. Next week we are launching our SunSmart campaign where we hope to raise awareness around the dangers of not properly protecting yourself from the sun’s harmful UV rays through daily weather announcements, a SunSmart video that will be shared at the student-Led Assembly, as well as educational posters presented around the school.
The sun’s ultraviolet or UV rays can cause severe damage to unprotected skin, eyes and can lead to skin cancer. It is recommended that sun protection measures should be taken when the UV index (which can be checked in most weather apps) is 3 or higher. Unfortunately, with the rise of the harmful ‘tanning culture’ and misinformation surrounding sun safety, students are often the most at risk to these effects.
We, as student leaders, are passionate about ensuring the health of our community and feel that especially during Term 1, while we are still in the summer months and the UV is at its highest, it is important to remind students and staff to be practicing sun safety both in and out of the school gates.
During the recent swimming carnival, our team organised an initiative where we asked students and staff to answer questions about sun safety in an educational video. Everyone who participated received a free sample of SPF50+ sunscreen from the brand Airyday. This was to encourage discussion about sun safety, as well as to promote the incorporation of sun protection in student and staff’s daily routines.
We hope that by sharing information about the sun’s UV rays and the damage it can cause to our skin without proper and regular protection, those in our community will take daily steps to continue to shield themselves from the dangerous effects of the sun.
We have shared a few links below to provide you with some information about how to stay SunSmart.
https://www.cancer.org.au/cancer-information/causes-and-prevention/sun-safety/be-sunsmart
https://www.cancer.org.au/end-the-trend/why-we-need-to-end-the-trend
The 2025 Health and Wellbeing Team.
