Healthy, Safe and Caring Schools
UPDate April 2015
April
Daffodil Days- Cancer Awareness Month
World Health Day April 7
Day of Silence April 17
Earth Day Canada April 22
Lights Out Canada April 22
Earth Day Canada April 22
CTV Community Clean Up April 22
Save the Frogs Day April 25
May
Youth Week BC May 1-7
National Mental Health Week May 4-10
National Sun Awareness Week May 4-10
Move for Health Day May 10
International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia May 17
Bike to Work/School Week May 25-29
Aboriginal Awareness Week May 20-23
June
Canadian Environment Week May 30-June 6
Clean Air Day Canada June 4
World Environment Day June 5
World Oceans Day June 8
National Aboriginal Day June 21Spotlight on Healthy Schools Stories in SD 61!
Rockheights Stepping into Nature
Rockheight’s students became more in touch with nature and the importance of greening their school through photography, video and the arts. Working with Creatively United founder Frances Litman, students learned the importance of environmental stewardship and waste-reduction/recycling through a comprehensive and creative learning program that included regular field trips to a nearby Garry Oak ecosystem. Read more here
Shoreline Activity Before Learning
Students at Shoreline Community Middle School run through their morning exercises before heading to class as part of the school's fitness and nutrition routine. Students begin the day with 20 minutes of exercise followed by a snack under a program that has seen a sharp reduction in absenteeism and a rise in academic performance. Read more here
Farm to School
Have a Healthy School Story you would like to share?
Email Healthy Safe and Caring Schools Program with your story at mjones@sd61.bc.ca
Mental Health Resources Map
HeartMind
Heart-Mind Online is a resource full of practical hands-on activities, background research, and links to academic articles. It provides the latest research on Heart-Mind well-being in an accessible and engaging manner. Whether you need a quick moment of inspiration or an activity you want to try at home or the classroom, Heart-Mind Online will be your one-stop shop.
Speak Up "This is Mental Health"
To help foster more awareness about how mental health is relevant to everyone, Speak Up has launched a 15 Seconds 4 Change social media awareness campaign. The campaign theme, This is Mental Health, encourages youth aged 15 to 25 to post images and videos to instagram that illustrate thoughts, feelings & behaviours in everyday life. BC youth who participate in the campaign are eligible for a draw to win an iPad Air, iPad Mini or iPod Nano.
Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is a cognitive behavior approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing the way we feel and states of alertness into four concrete zones. The curriculum provides strategies for students to become more aware of, and independent in controlling their emotions and impulses, managing their sensory needs, and improving their ability to problem solve conflicts. The program can be introduced to your school by a Occupational Therapist via classroom presentations or in-service for teachers. For more information call Jennifer Petrosky at QA 250-519-6761.
Power of Hope
Power of Hope invites grade 8 classes to participate in SAME: A fun and engaging workshop series that raises awareness and provides knowledge and resources to help bring an end to homophobic bullying, and to bring greater inclusivity and cohesion to your school community. This year they are inviting high schools students to support them in leading workshops for grade 8 students. For more information trina@powerofhope.org or call 250-516-2256.
Growth Mind-Set
Carol Dweck and other researchers have observed that rewarding effort, grit, and perseverance helps children and adolescents develop a growth mindset -- the belief that you can learn and achieve by making persistent efforts. A growth mindset increases learning and exploration as well as the ability to handle frustration and failure, while a fixed mindset can lead to a sense of inadequacy as well as failure to keep trying if success isn't achieved right away.
Play is the Way
PLAY IS THE WAY® is a practical methodology for teaching social and emotional learning. It is a process that gives primary schools a way to develop, improve and entrench the personal and social capabilities of students. It is a philosophy of behaviour education and student self-regulation that fosters independent, self-motivated, empathetic, life-long learners. Follow the link to register for an upcoming "pay for one, bring another" workshop Sooke - Friday, April 17
Happiness Project
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Although happiness is a timeless and universal human quest, only in recent years has research turned its focus on how happiness can be sustained and increased. Science has now confirmed that with certain practices we can change the neural pathways of our brain. Happiness is a set of skills we can learn through practice. Read more here
Happiness Project Video
Educators for Positive Education
Victoria Educators for Positive Education is a Facebook group with the goal of collaborating to bring concepts of positive psychology like mindfulness, gratitude, kindness, forgiveness, self-compassion, empathy, movement and meaning into the education system and to work towards building an educational model where social-emotional learning is as essential as the academics we teach.
April is Dental Health Month
When we consume food and drinks containing sugar bacteria in the mouth use the sugar to produce an acid. This acid attacks the surface of teeth and can cause cavities. Some drinks, like pop and energy drinks also have phosphoric acid added which can damage teeth by eroding the enamel. For children in grades 4-6 Sip Smart! BC™ is an educational program to teach about making healthy drink choices. For teens, lesson plans exploring the dangers of soft drinks can be found at PBS.org as well as the YouTube videos Soda Girl, and Soda Guy which warn of the damage that can happen to teeth from sipping sugary drinks all day.
Bike to School Week
Communicable Disease-Newsletter Inserts
From time to time, your school may experience an outbreak of a communicable disease. If you are looking to share information with parents and guardians the following newsletter inserts are available from Island Health: chickenpox, cold sores, impetigo, fifth disease, hand, foot and mouth disease, mononucleosis, scarlet fever, scabies, strep throat, pinworms, pink eye, whooping cough. Contact your local Public Health Unit School Health Team to obtain an electronic copy of any of the newsletter inserts or to speak with a Public Health Nurse.
National Ballet of Canada
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The National Ballet of Canada’s YOU dance program introduces ballet to children to inspire creativity and imagination. Committed to actively involving students in grades 4-6 in dance, YOU dance offers free workshops and performances. The next performance will be streamed live on May 5/6th. Students will watch a live streamed performance in addition to being led through discussions before and after the performance. To register click here
Action Schools! BC Complimentary Workshop
Action Schools! BC Healthy Eating Student Leadership can be booked for grades 4 to 7 or a high school leadership team who can work with students at their feeder schools. Student leaders will learn how to lead activities that promote vegetable and fruit consumption and healthy eating and will also develop and utilize essential basic leadership skills. Click here for more information or contact info@actionschoolsbc.ca to book a workshop.
Where to Call for Help
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Where to Call for Help is a poster created by Healthy, Safe and Caring Schools program. The intent is to provide an information resource for students who may be seeking help in our community.
RBC Watershed Awards
The RBC–Evergreen Watershed Champions Award recognizes classes that demonstrate learning about their local watershed and who take action to care for it. The award is open to Canadian schools from K- 12. Multiple classes or schools may submit a combined application. Make a splash in your classroom before April 17th for a chance to become one of the 2015 award recipients!
CRD Watershed Tours
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During B.C. Drinking Water Week (May 4-8) the Capital Regional District Integrated Water Services department is offering free tours for middle and high school classes/groups of the Greater Victoria drinking water supply area.
Grasslands Safari
The Grasslands Safari is a cross-curricular lesson plan for grades 3-5. Art, science and drama are used together to engage students to learn about concepts of habitats and communities, and animal and plant adaptations, by learning about the special grassland ecosystems of BC.
Youth Climate Action Summit and Off the Grid Music Festival
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The YesBC 5th Annual Youth Climate Action Summit and Off the Grid Music Festival 2015 is happening Thursday, April 23rd at Oak Bay High School. Registration is free for middle and high school students who will have an opportunity to engage in all kinds of exciting workshops. Please contact Judy Fanstein for further information.
SD 61 Compost Fundraiser
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ReFUSE is the company that picks up the organics at each school in our district and they would like to offer you a fundraising opportunity. The organics your staff and students collect is turned into a magical compost soil product called reSOIL. ReFUSE is offering your school the opportunity to purchase reSOIL to sell for a profit. For more information or to order ReSoil click here or email mjones@sd61.bc.ca
Angels for Aids Africa
African AIDS Angels is a volunteer group based in Victoria B.C. which supports projects in three countries of southern Africa. Local volunteers make small cloth angels by hand, and these angels are exchanged for donations. Ninety-five percent of funds raised are sent directly to support children and families seriously affected by HIV/AIDS. To get involved in this project visit here
To check out more grant opportunities visit the Healthy Schools BC website here
The Healthy Schools BC website is a “one-stop” access point for healthy schools information and programs across the province. The website assists teachers, the health sector, and other interested members of the community in accessing the array of resources available and demonstrates how these programs can work together using a planned and coordinated approach.
2015 BC Student Leadership Conference "CHOOSE TO LEAD"
Wednesday, May 6, 2015, 09:00 AM
University of Victoria David Lam Auditoruim
KEYNOTE Mark Scharenbroich
Mark is easily recognized as one of the top speakers for both students and educators in North America. His style is entertaining. His message is inspiring. His content is solid. Mark has over 30 years of speaking experience and has made over 3500 school presentations.
POSTER
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For more information contact Bill Edgecombe
1-877-992-4343 or
PRESENTER Scott Hammell
Scott has been a speaker for “Me To We” and has toured Kenya with “Free The Children” founder Mark Kielburger. Over the last decade Scott has toured the world presenting at leadership conferences for students from high schools to universities.
Creatively United for the Planet
The Fourth Annual Creatively United for the Planet Earth Week Festival will be held this year on April 25/26. This free, fun-filled all-ages festival features live music and entertainment, short films and documentaries, innovative displays, local food, afternoon tea, yoga, children’s activities, art and art-making, electric car and bike displays, massage and healing arts, a silent auction and a locally-sourced organic green dinner and concert!
Saturday, Apr 25, 2015, 12:00 PM
English Inn, Lampson Street, Victoria, BC, Canada
Healthy, Safe and Caring Schools
This Update is intended for information purposes. Inclusion in the Update does not necessarily imply endorsement or recommendation by the District or the Healthy, Safe and Caring Schools Program. It is the readers’ responsibility to determine the suitability of the resource for their specific purposes.
Marnice Jones
Greater Victoria School District
Coordinator Healthy, Safe and Caring Schools
Student Services
Email: mjones@sd61.bc.ca
Website: sd61.bc.ca
Phone: 250-475-4223
Twitter: @4Rcommunity