The program, in general, is awesome. Yes, you are correct; it's Covid's fault that it hasn't been implemented. Direction from our supervisor, Shannon Montgomery, is that we are not to participate in any face-to-face meetings until further notice. There have been other programs that we are able to facilitate via Microsoft Teams, but my experience is that schools prefer presenters in person.Bonnie Peloski, Interlake-Eastern RHA

If it's at all helpful, in the 2019/20 year, I did 25 different presentations in 8 different communities with a total of 1145 students hearing the presentations (grades 5-12)... My colleague in the North area of our region did presentations for grades 5-10 and presented to about 750 students in 2019/20.Tara Smith – Prairie Mountain RHA

Hi, Hailey, Please keep up the wonderful work you are doing! Now more than ever, it is important to move forward with the Lungs Are for Life Program. A 2019 study found a "dramatic 74% increase in youth vaping in Canada." (https://www.cancer.ca/en/about-us/for-media/media-releases/national/2019/youth-vaping/?region=qc) Since that study, we are finding out more and more about possible health effects vaping might be having on our youth. It is important to have factual information for our youth and to involve them in the program (the experiments are wonderful!) in order for them to make choices that are informed. The best way for us to go about educating our youth is by putting the most up-to-date, evidence-informed program in the hands of our educators. Teachers best know the children and youth they work with on a day-to-day basis, know how to best convey this information to their individual students, and can integrate the Lungs Are For Life material into their daily lesson plans. We know that repetition is also important for school-age learning; having multiple lesson plans available for teachers to choose from ensures that material can be repeated in different ways. I understand that this was a difficult year to roll out a new program in the school system; however, you have already managed to establish connections with school divisions, administration, and teachers, and so you have laid the groundwork to continue this in 2021.Marilyn Sitar, Interlake-Eastern RHA

I highly encourage all Physical Education Specialists to use this material created by the Manitoba Lung Association. It easily integrates into the health component. Feel free to reach out to Hailey if you need more information.Brian McMillan (Mick), President – PHE Manitoba