Healthy Schools Newsletter

Healthy Schools Newsletter for Educators
From Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

April 2023

In this Issue:

Mental Health Week!
Screen Free Week!

We invite you to encourage your colleagues to subscribe to this newsletter to receive up-to-date and timely information from HPEPH.

Mental Health Week!

Celebrate Mental Health Week at your school! May 1-7, 2023

The theme for the 2023 Mental Health Week is stories – we all have mental health – we all have mental health stories – we all need to take care of our mental health.

We all have stories about our mental health – about our everyday feelings, times when we were struggling, or about how we handled it. How do stories help? Sometimes, learning about someone else’s experience can help us feel less alone. Real-life stories can help inspire and motivate us and we can learn from them.

For this mental health week, shine a spotlight on the stories from your school – journeys taken to promote mental health for the whole school, programs or classroom activities, or in-school and community supports. Let your community know what great things are already happening in your school to boost mental health! Share your story using #MyStory and #MentalHealthWeek.

Visit CMHA Mental Health Week for supporting materials.

School Staff and Education Resources

For Educators

School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO) Read Aloud Stories – videos of books read aloud that can be enjoyed at home or for classroom use.
SMHO Gratitude Journal Activity – have students write their own mental health story focusing on gratitude – a great way to boost mental health.
Promote Mental Health Week by using these social media, newsletter, and announcement messages prepared by HPEPH

For Students

Stories from Kids Help Phone – You are not alone kidshelpphone.ca/publications/you-are-not-alone
Boost mental health with the SMHO Self Care 101 Handout smho-smso.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Self-Care-101.pdf
Learn to reach out for help with the SMHO tip sheet smho-smso.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Reaching-Out.pdf

For Parents/Caregivers

Story books can be a great way to start conversations and build new coping skills. Check out the School Mental Health Ontario Suggested Book List.
Boost your child’s mental health with these Easy and fun mental health activities for home from School Mental Health Ontario.

Screen Free Week!

Let’s Get Ready to Unplug!

Screen-Free Week is an annual invitation to play, explore, and connect offline. From May 1- 7, 2023, choose to power off and play! Screens are important tools that allow us to learn and connect with others online but why not encourage students to take a day or a week off and see what screen-free adventures they can have. Teachers, you can help celebrate the week by reducing the amount of screen-based work you assign in class and for homework or your school could try out Screen-Free Recess Breaks! Screen-free time provides students with opportunities for creative play, which increases physical activity and builds curiosity. Take the screen-free pledge to unplug today!

School Staff and Education Resources

Home-School Connection Resources

Back to Summary

Contact Information:

For other questions about Healthy Schools: healthyschools@hpeph.ca

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