12 th grade students from Lima de Freitas Primary and Secondary School received, last 23 November, a team of Hospital da Luz Setúbal professionals, that provided the first session of the project “Escola com saúde” (Health at School), an initiative destined to the educational establishments of the region. The purpose is to develop children and youngsters’ competences in health. School is the place of excellence where children and youngsters, individually and in group, can learn how to manage their health efficiently and act on the factors that influence it. The project “Escola com saúde” arises upon requests from several schools in Setúbal, so as to hold briefing sessions provided by Hospital da Luz on health topics , in an age-appropriate manner. Within the context of our responsibilities of collaboration and support to the community, we have accepted the challenge – which was only possible thanks to the mobilization of different services and multidisciplinary teams of the hospital. “Escola com saúde” (Health at school): Is a project organized based on criteria defined in the national program of Promotion and Education for Health (PES) in school environment, aiming to develop competences in children and youngsters, giving them tools to make conscious and responsible individual choices. Is divided into four thematic areas, with specific groups of students: Healthy lifestyles (for 4 th grade students); Basic life support (6 th grade); Substance or non-substance addictive behaviours (9 th grade); Affection and sexuality (12 th grade). The Hospital da Luz Setúbal team present on November 23 at Lima de Freitas School included psychologists Cláudia Martins and Bruna Passos, and nurses Marina Leal, Patrícia Mendes and Vanda Sousa. Over the course of a morning, the 12 th grade students heard them attentively and were able to clarify doubts on the topic of “Affection and sexuality” – a session organized and accompanied by Celeste Aldeias, teacher coordinator of Promotion and Education for Health. Watch over affections at school is of significant importance, since it is on these affectional (positive and negative) connections that depend learning (better or worse) and interpersonal relationships (more or less satisfactory) – and, consequently, attitudes and more or less positive behaviours. In this sense, the development of affections at school is an important lever for the academic success of students. Through games and role play strategies, the Hospital da Luz Setúbal team presented and discussed with the students topics such as love and attraction, proximity and compromise, healthy relationships and sexual violence, pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted infections prevention. In the photo below, professor Celeste Aldeias and the Hospital da Luz team (Vanda Sousa, Claúdia Martins, Bruna Passos, Marina Leal and Patrícia Mendes), who was accompanied by our mascot, Lu.
