Avalanche Links

The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council

Avalanche.net.nz

www.csac.org - The Avalanche Center

snow.co.nz

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN THE NZ CURRICULUM

KEY AREAS 
Outdoor Education planning strategies to evaluate and manage personal and group safety, challenges and risk.  
Physical activity knowledge and understanding of scientific and technological influence on physical activity  
Body Care and safety develop the ability to identify environmental hazards (avalanches). Practice strategies to avoid harm from avalanches and learn emergency procedures for managing risk situations.  
Mental Health Use critical thinking and problem solving skill to develop strategies and safety procedures for avoiding, minimising or managing risk situations.  
Food and Nutrition develop an understanding of the need to take high quality food and water in survival kits to refuel the body and the brain.

 

ESSENTIAL SKILLS 

Physical Skills  

  1. Demonstrate physical skills for personal safety and first aid

  2. Apply specialist skills in an area of interest including recreation, sport and work.  

Self Management & Competitive Skills  

  1. Exercise self discipline to take responsibility for their own actions and decisions

  2. Take responsibility for their own health and safety using appropriate skills to protect themselves from harm.  

Communication Skills.
  1. Use up to date information and communication technologies.  

Problem Solving Skills  

  1. Make informed choices

  2. Implement decisions

  3. Evaluate processes, decisions, actions and outcomes  

Social & Co-operative Skills
  1. Accept various roles and take responsibility as a group member for jointly decided actions and decisions eg. Route planning/selection.
  2. Exercise leadership skills  

Strand A Personal Health and Physical Development

Students develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes to meet their health and physical needs, both now and in the future.

SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT

Level 6
Students will distinguish between real and perceived risks in physical and social environments and develop skills for appropriate action such as preventing injury and implementing safety procedures on the mountains, e.g. taking the correct survival equipment including a first aid kit.

Level 7
Students will demonstrate understandings of the responsible behaviours required to ensure physical challenges are managed safely, e.g. Avalanche Awareness and correct Self Survival equipment such as ASK.  

Level 8
Students will analyse dilemmas and issues that influence their own safety and that of other people e.g. Peer pressure, work times versus leisure time.  

Strand B.   Movement Concepts and Motor Skills.

Learning physical skills helps students develop understandings about how they care for themselves and make informed choices in recreation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY –    Avalanche Analysis and Forecasting.

-   Avalanche Transceivers

-     Avalanche Balloons 

Level 5

Students will investigate and experience ways in which scientific, technological and environmental knowledge and resources assist in and influence peoples participation in regular mountain activities.  

Level 6

  Students will apply scientific and technological knowledge and resources to enhance physical abilities in a range of environments, e.g. in the design of transceivers and balloons for avalanches.  

Level 7

Students will apply relevant scientific and technological and environmental knowledge and resources to improve performance in a specialised physical activity e.g. specialised equipment such as probes, shovels and transceivers for backcountry mountain avalanche terrain.  

Level 8

Students will critically analyse and experience the application of scientific and technological knowledge and resources to physical activity in a range of environments in the results of statistical research into avalanches as in the Irwin Report of 1998. www.avalanche.net.nz

Strand C.   Relationships with other people.

Students consider how they influence the well being of other people and how the actions, values, attitudes and needs of other people influence them.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

Level 5       

Students will demonstrate a range of interpersonal skills and processes that help them to make safe choices for themselves and other people in the mountain environment.

 

Level 6
Students will plan strategies and demonstrate interpersonal skills to respond to challenging situation appropriately e.g. planning a backcountry snow trip and knowing how to decide not to go if the danger is high.

 

Level 7
Students will evaluate information, make informed decisions and use interpersonal skills effectively to go onto “avalanche “terrain or to choose another route or not to go at all.  

Level 8
Students will analyse and evaluate attitudes and interpersonal skills that enable people to participate fully and effectively as members of the snow community with skills such as consultation and communication to contribute to the safety of the team.  

Strand D.   Healthy Communities and Environments.

Students develop an understanding of their responsibilities to their mountain / snow community and come to recognise the benefits that they can experience from participating actively as community members.

Level 6
Students will investigate the roles and the effectiveness of local and national organisations that promote wellbeing and environmental safety for mountain activities. e.g. Ski Patrollers and Search and Rescue Volunteers.  

Level 7 

Student will analyse ways in which the environment and the well being of the snow community are affected by population pressure and technological processes, such as going off piste to avoid the crowds and wearing/not wearing transceivers or carrying safety equipment.  

Level 8
Students will critically analyse the interrelationship between local people, the tourism industry, and technology on aspect of environmental health.  

E.g. More people on the mountain means improved lifts to take them further which can in turn lead to the potential for more accidents and the consequences of.

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