News
May 7th is National Child and Youth Mental Health Day
This year’s theme focuses on self-care for children and youth, as well as their parents and caregivers. Everyone is encouraged to start a conversation in their home, school, workplace and/or community about the importance of taking care of ourselves – asking what self-care looks, sounds and feels like. The Kelty Centre will be posting videos on May 7 where members of their team talk about what self-care means to them.
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Articles
Promoting Mental Well-Being Through Social-Emotional Learning in Schools: Examples from British Columbia
Social and emotional learning is increasingly recognized as playing an important role in the promotion of positive mental health in schools. This paper highlights the multi-faceted approach undertaken in British Columbia over the past decade to promote positive mental health through social-emotional learning in schools.
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Stories
Kinesthetic Learning at Beach Grove Elementary School, Delta.
Can regular, frequent physical activity breaks throughout the school day increase students' fitness and engagement in learning? This inquiry question led a teacher at Beach Grove Elementary School in Delta to commence implementing daily brain breaks to help increase the students’ stamina and fitness. With the help of a Healthy Schools BC grant, he purchased three stationary desk cycles. Students were encouraged to self-regulate their brain breaks and make use of the equipment when they needed.
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Filling Learners’ Tummies with Healthy Food
Staff at Midway Elementary School in Midway, B.C. noticed a number of students bringing highly processed foods to school. Staff took action and implemented a food education program to help the students and families recognize healthy choices. They engaged students through a number of cooking projects, provided instruction to students on food groups, and educated parents through newsletters and school events. At the end of the year, they created a cookbook and shared it with the entire school community.
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Reso
urces
Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators (EASE) Workshops & Resources Now Available
EASE is a collection of evidence-informed anxiety prevention and resilience-building resources for use with students in grades K-7. These stand-alone resources align with the BC curriculum and are designed to benefit all children by fitting into existing classroom routines and practices. EASE workshops and resources are available for Primary (K-3) and Intermediate (4-7) educators at no cost to BC teachers, school counsellors and other educators who participate in a one day interactive professional development session.
Find out more.
Active for Life Physical Literacy Lesson Plans
Active for Life offers ready-made lesson plans for educators, caregivers, camp leaders, and after-school program leaders who want to deliver physical literacy instruction to children. All lesson plans are in PDF format and include key fundamental movement skills such as balancing, dribbling, kicking and throwing among many others.
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Announcements
May 31
st
2019 is World No Tobacco Day
Every year on May 31st, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global partners celebrate World No Tobacco Day. The annual campaign is an opportunity to raise awareness on the harmful and deadly effects of tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure, and to discourage the use of tobacco in any form. The focus of World No Tobacco Day 2019 is on "tobacco and lung health." To find out more on World No Tobacco Day click
here
. For free support to quit smoking for British Columbians, check out
Quit Now
. For resources specific to vaping, see Health Canada's
Consider the Consequences.
UBC Summer Institutes – Registration Open
Every summer, the UBC Faculty of Education offers a variety of short, intensive courses on a multitude of topic areas. These summer institutes are developed based on the needs addressed by both program alumni and school advisors, changes in the education landscape, as well as the expertise of UBC faculty members. This year's courses include Introduction to School Mental Health Literacy, SOGI Education & Leadership, Practical Foods and Supporting Student Mental Health among others.
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