We have therefore set ourselves the sustainable goal as a school that we need healthy teachers and students. We see this as quality development of our school and as a prerequisite for its success, because only healthy teachers and students will have the performance strength that is necessary for the development of good schools. Now, however, we have noticed that we still have some gaps in our knowledge in the area of physical and physical teacher health, so we want to consciously focus on the physical and physical health of teachers as a preventive measure and acquire even more know-how in this area by attending international training courses. Our longer-term goal is, on the one hand, to improve our teachers' health and, at the same time, to promote health awareness as well as the health competencies of our students and pupils, so that a sustainably healthy society will continue to exist in the future.
Covid has shown us that health, both mental and physical, is of utmost importance in professional life. Furthermore, we believe that with an increased European awareness, EU citizenship can be better lived when teachers gain new professional, cultural and personal experiences through their mobility and can then pass these on to other teachers and their students. Our school has also been addressing the issue of teacher health for several years. Studies on teacher health demonstrate the high health stresses of teaching. In 2017, for example, we had participated in a study led by "Prevent at Work" (https://preventatwork.at/), which was about job satisfaction, and here, too, figures proved the high stress in the teaching profession, e.g. due to an extremely high increase in mental illnesses among teachers in Austria in recent years. This year, our teaching staff has also been affected by a strikingly high number of long-term sick leave cases. This means that teachers are increasingly no longer able to meet their professional requirements. This has negative consequences for students and, ultimately, for society as a whole: a knowledge society, whose essential asset is the innovative strength of its citizens, needs high-performing schools, which, in turn are inconceivable without healthy, high-performing teachers. But our students, too, can only perform well if they feel emotionally and physically well and healthy. Fostering a harmonious and positive work environment means arousing the curiosity, the interest of the students and ultimately brings better learning success. Evidence shows that emotions are the driving force behind the learning process and that students thrive best when they experience positive relationships, connectedness, and a sense of belonging. Sustainably promoting and preserving teacher/student health and performance, and building emotional health and satisfaction as well, is therefore a goal with high societal relevance.