NSW Governor visits Healthy Harold in Orange
Tuesday, 15 Aug 2023
Life Ed, along with well-known mascot Healthy Harold, has been delivering health education to NSW school children for more than 40 years. Each year more than 14,000 children in the Orange & Cabonne region benefit from the program.
On Thursday 3 August, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales, and Mr Dennis Wilson visited Nashdale Public School in the Orange region to engage with staff and students, and the Life Ed team. Facilitating the visit was school principal Ms Kylie Toberty, alongside Life Ed representatives including, Life Ed NSW Board Director and Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM, alongside Life Ed NSW Chief Operating Officer, Terese Hooper and Life Ed Specialist Educator, Christopher Hardy.
As joint Patrons of Life Ed NSW, it was a privilege to welcome the Governor and Mr Wilson to Nashdale Public School and provide the Vice-Regal couple with an update on the Life Ed program and the opportunity to view one of the Life Ed sessions in action.
The morning commenced with a tour of the school’s Aurora College classroom, which is a part of the state’s first virtual selective school that services rural and remote students. The Governor joined the virtual live stream class, speaking with Year 6 students across regional NSW who shared their experiences about the program and showcased their STEM kits.
Students, staff and Life Ed representatives then congregated in the school gym, where Life Ed Director and Mayor of Parkes, Councillor Ken Keith, OAM addressed the group on behalf of Life Ed NSW, and thanked the Governor for her advocacy and support to the organisation as Vice-Regal Patron.
At Life Ed, we are passionate advocates for helping our local students succeed, and we strongly believe all our children and young people deserve health equity
“As Vice-Regal patron of Life Ed NSW, Her Excellency’s presence holds special significance to us, and we deeply appreciate the advocacy and support provided to our organisation over the years. Thank you to the Governor for your commitment to education and collective care. We are grateful for your continued dedication to promoting the importance of health and wellbeing of our children and young people, in partnership with Life Ed.” he said.
The NSW Governor addressed attendees, thanking the Nashdale Public School community and Life Ed for hosting the visit and afterwards was shown the Life Ed Mobile Learning Centre where the Vice-Regal couple viewed Year 2 students participate in the popular primary Life Ed module, ‘Safety Rules!’.
Facilitated by Life Ed specialist Educator, Christopher, the engaging and interactive session saw students investigate how to protect themselves in unsafe environments and seek help. They also learned about the people and services that keep us safe and how to identify and respond in emergency situations.
“We are delighted to showcase the impact the Life Ed program has on our young people. By equipping children with skills and strategies at a young age, we can help shape their attitudes and behaviours towards health and wellbeing, setting them up for a lifetime of positive and safe choices.” said Cr Ken Keith, OAM.
