Sun Sensible

Educating our students on the harmful damage that the sun can cause their skin and lives is an issue that requires a committed school wide approach from parents and teachers. Student health and wellbeing are significant parts of our duty of care.

A fact that we cannot ignore is that Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Following are some statistics that should really raise our awareness of just how dangerous the sun is if we are not sensible:

• every second Australian will have a form of skin cancer in their lives
• over 1600 people in Australia die each year from skin cancer
• 80% of all new cancers are skin cancers
• over 380,000 people develop non-melanoma skin cancers annually in Australia
• over 8500 Australians develop melanomas annually.

No matter what the colour of our skin, Ultra Violet (UV) radiation from the sun can cause serious damage

this is more so in growing children up to the age of 15 years; their skin is very vulnerable
for more information look at www.sunsmart.com.au

The most powerful influence teachers can have is to role model the wearing of broad brimmed hats when outside on Yard Duty and adopting a school wide zero tolerance on students not wearing hats.

Following is an approach that is highly effective in ensuring whole school sunsmart behaviours by all members of the school community

• from day one, show every class in the school realistic short documentaries available free of charge from the Cancer Council, that depict the frightening life threatening damage that the sun has caused to adolescents
• students not prepared to wear their hats spend a minimum of three consecutive lunchtimes watching these documentaries to educate them; should they continue to not wear hats, then they spend five consecutive lunchtimes. Stringent measures are required because their health is too important.
• essentially any students not prepared to meet sunsmart expectations stay inside during lunchtimes being educated; it is a matter of choice for them, but their health is our priority.

UV radiation penetrates deep into the layers of our skin damaging the cells:

• it is invisible and it is at its worst between 10.00am to 2.00pm
• the long term results include wrinkles, rough and blotchy skin.

Sensible sunsmart messages to protect our skin include

• wear protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible, such as, long sleeved collared tops, ¾ pants
• use SPF 30+ sunscreen 20 minutes before going outside and reapply every 2 hours
• use at least a teaspoon of sunscreen on each arm, leg, front and back and ½ a teaspoon on face and ears
• if exercising and perspiring apply sunscreen in shorter time intervals than 2 hours
• wear a broadbrimmed, bucket or legionaire hat when outside; baseball caps offer little protection
• wear sunglasses to protect our eyes from UV radiation
• when outside spend the majority of time in the shade
• on overcast days the threat of UV radiation is still very high.

Many people mistakenly believe that if they don’t turn red from sunburn, their skin has not been damaged. UV radiation is an ever present and danger to our skin and when selecting a sunscreen to use, it is important to realise that not all sunscreens are made from the same ingredients. We should choose one that suits our skin and if unsure speak to a chemist.

Also, clothing offers differing protection from the sun, called the Ultra Violet Protection Factor (UPF):

• it depends on the material used; denser weaves and darker colours usually offer greater protection
• not all clothing has a UPF rating, but of those that do, anything above UPF 30 offers good protection .

Being sun sensible is a vital part of our students’ lifelong learning; let’s do it well.

“You are the sunshine of my life” Stevie Wonder