Healthy Schools Newsletter
From Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

May 2024

 In this Issue:

  1. Mental Health Week May 6-12, 2024

  2. Try This! Make a kindness wall!

  3. School highlight - Centennial Secondary School

  4. Upcoming dates

  5. Stay tuned for PRIDE resources!

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: May 6-12, 2024 – A Call to be Kind!

Accept the ‘Call to be Kind’ and celebrate the power of compassion and kindness in your school by modeling, encouraging, and noticing kindness.

Compassion is the feeling that encourages us to help others. Kindness is when compassion leads to action. These are powerful things! Research shows that compassion and kindness can benefit education and improve health and well-being. They nurture relationships and create a positive school climate.

MODEL Compassion and Kindness

Students learn by observing school staff. Show students how to be compassionate and kind. Simple things can make a big difference:

  • Welcome students with a smile. Greet them by name.
  • Ask about their interests. Show you care about their school and home life.
  • Be respectful toward others in the school.

ENCOURAGE Compassion and Kindness

Beyond the curriculum, schools can help students practice what they learn. Encouraging kindness can include:

  • Creating visual cues with posters and display boards.
  • Offering lunch hour kindness activities or starting a kindness club.
  • Participating in broader community volunteer activities.

NOTICE Compassion and Kindness

Showing compassion and kindness comes with its own reward – that warm feeling we get when helping others. Recognize students when they show kindness and help them reflect on how it made them feel. This reflection will help them understand the benefits of kindness and prompt them to continue.

Don’t forget self-compassion! Encourage fellow staff and students to be as kind and caring to themselves as they would to others.

Find supporting materials on the CMHA Mental Health Week website. Share your school kindness activities using #MentalHealthWeek and #CompassionConnects.

For educators

Curriculum supports and other materials:

Home, school and community partnership

Post on your school socials! Access ready-to-use social media messaging from the Mental Health Week website.

In addition, HPEPH has created general mental health social media messaging that you can cut, paste, and post as appropriate for your school community. Visit our Mental Health Newsletter and Social Media Messaging page for a full list or select from the sample kindness messages below:

  • Attention [school name]! It’s #MentalHealthWeek and there’s a call to be kind. Let’s show how we can feel compassion for others and act on it with kindness. #CompassionConnects
  • There are simple ways to show kindness to others. Hold open a door, help someone younger than you, smile when you pass someone in the hall. It’s mental health week! Let’s be kind!
  • Hey [school name], want to know an easy way to be happier? Be kind to others! It activates our brain's reward centre and makes us feel good. A bonus…it makes the other person feel happy too. It’s a win-win!

Looking to promote information to your school community on another topic? Visit our Newsletters and Social Media page for newsletters inserts, social media messages, and school announcements that be easily “cut and pasted” into your school promotional materials.

Try this!

TRY THIS! Make a kindness wall

Build a sense of community and foster kindness in your classroom or school by creating a kindness wall. Students can post anonymous, positive messages to uplift and remind each other that no one is alone.

Tag us! @hpepublichealth.

School highlights

Centennial Secondary School

The Wellness Team at Centennial Secondary School celebrated last year’s mental health week with a variety of activities designed to engage their fellow students, promote a sense of community, and support mental wellbeing. Activities (see images below) included:

  • Succulent pot decorating and a demonstration on how to care for the plants
  • Murals with positive messages and colouring supplies so students could colour on their breaks
  • A photo booth with props, run by the photography class (with over 400 photos taken!)
  • A hot and cold beverage station
  • A wellness wheel with trivia questions and prizes

All the activities were a huge hit with the student population! Students learned about mindfulness, kindness, self-care, and available mental health supports while enjoying the daily activities and supporting their school community.

Thank you to Centennial Secondary for promoting mental health!

Upcoming dates
  • May 6-12: Mental Health Week – See above for more information.
  • May 6-12: Screen-Free Week - A global invitation the first week in May to take a break from entertainment screens and experience more peace, connection, and fun! School resources are available to promote the screen-free pledge or screen-free events.
  • May 31: World No Tobacco Day – The theme of World No Tobacco Day 2024 is Protecting children from tobacco industry interference, intended to protect future generations and ensure that tobacco use continues to decline. Surveys consistently show that children aged 13–15 years in most countries are using tobacco and nicotine products.
     

Stay tuned!

Interested in Pride resources? Stay tuned for our June newsletter, which will feature information, announcements, and resources for students, staff, and families about Pride month.

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

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

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