"The energy that can help mankind is that which lies within the child." Maria Montessori - Secret of Childhood
The Sun Spot
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MSP Sun Awareness Program
In 2009, a local children's organization informed one of the MSP owners that there was a grant for shade structures available. She, in turn, presented the information to the MSP PTO Board and that small step set many things in motion.
The PTO Board members began to examine existing policies and behaviors regarding sun safety. During the process, they discovered the EPA's SunWise checklist, which was created to assist schools in evaluating how wise they actually are when it comes to sun safety. The evaluation score validated the feelings of board members that MSP is committed to sun safety for children and staff. It also helped to identify areas where more growth could occur (please check out the school's SunWise policy for more information on our targeted growth areas).
What you are seeing right now is a result of a concerted effort among the PTO members, school owners, staff, and community partners to strengthen the sun safety program at MSP and improve the lives of our children, staff, and community.
Information is updated regularly, so click back often!
A national poster contest has begun: click here for details.
Coming soon: information about the national Don't Fry Day!
MSP is an EPA Sunwise School (The SunWise Program is an environmental and health education program that aims to teach children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun through the use of classroom-, school-, and community-based components.) - School SunWise Policy- click here to read it. (Click here to view the evaluation tool used to create this policy.
- MSP has a policy about sunscreen application in our parent handbook. Click here to read it.
- MSP uses a permission form for any types of medications to be kept and used at school (such as sunscreen). Click here for the form.
*Thank you to the American Cancer Society (ACS) for donating sunscreen to our school. To visit the ACS site on how to be safe in the sun, click here.
2010-2011 School year Sun Awareness Articles
September
Sure, we know you are smart parents. After all you picked MSP to educate your child, but how smart are you when it comes to “suntelligence”?
Go to the American Academy of Dermatology's website and check out their Suntelligence Survey.
November
Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you. You look like... Don't forget to take the recommendation of the American Academy of Dermatology and check your birthday suit on your birthday. If you notice anything changing, growing, or bleeding on your skin, see a dermatologist. Skin cancer is very treatable when caught early!
December
Is that sunscreen bottle a little sandy? Have you been using the same bottle since your last vacation? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself...Can I use the sunscreen I bought last summer, or do I need to purchase a new bottle? Does it lose strength?
Check out the following link to find the surprising answer to this and many more interesting sunscreen related questions.
http://www.aad.org/media/background/factsheets/fact_sunscreen.htm
January
Looking for a positive role model in your child's life? Or, perhaps your child needs a male role model. Well, look no further because Sammy the Skin Cell is just a click away! Sammy is a friendly little skin cell who can help your children navigate through a user friendly kid's site dedicated to teaching them about hair, nails and skin.
http://www.kidsskinhealth.org/kids/#/SkinHairNails/SkinHealth/
Don't forget.... our 'Hat Hrive for the homeless' event is this month. Please send any unwanted hats in with your child during the week of March 21-25. We will donate them to Loaves and Fishes (a shelter for homeless families, pregnant women and single parents with minor children).
February
While your little one is off at school learning their ABCs and 123s, why not learn the ABCDE's of Melanoma Detection?