Healthy School News
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Can mindfulness lessons boost child mental health?
Mindfulness lessons are quickly growing in popularity in England as an antidote to stress the of being a young person in the 21st century. Does it work? There is the concern about avoiding the" quick fix approach." England's Department for Education is funding a major...
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The power of vulnerability
Brene Brown, research professor at the University of Houston, has spent two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy. She is the author of five #1 New York Times best sellers. Brown collected thousands of stories and pieces of data over 6 years of...
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Characteristics of an Effective Health Education Curriculum
From the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's Healthy Schools website: Today’s state-of-the-art health education curricula reflect the growing body of research that emphasizes Teaching functional health information (essential knowledge) Shaping personal...
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Mental Health Woes are Commonplace in our Institutes of Higher Learning
Article: The sickening silence about suicide on campus Filling our students with knowledge is not enough; they deserve good health too. Andre Picard - Opinion section of the Globe and Mail, Tuesday March 25, 2019 Some highlights from the article: When schools refuse...
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Ideas for Enhancing Support at Your School: Monthly Themes
UCLA's Center for Mental Health in Schools & Student/Learning Supports have some excellent resources on their website. Improve Teaching and Learning Supports by Addressing the Rhythms of the Year A culture of shared learning and positive risk-taking brings...
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Digital Dementia
Do we need help? There is a need to maintain sacred spaces. Questions addressed in the video: Have we lost the ability to do certain things? How do we maintain a balance? Are we outsourcing our brains? Strategies are suggested for teens and parents. All adults and...
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Positive Mental Health Toolkit
The Pan-Canadian Joint Consortium for School Health Positive Mental Health Toolkit is a very useful resource. This toolkit has been designed to promote positive mental health practices and perspectives within the school environment. The toolkit was developed for the...
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UBC research explores why transition to high school puts some kids at risk of mental illness
The transition from elementary school to high school can be stressful. Like other major life changes, it can put children at greater risk for depression, anxiety and other psychiatric illnesses. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Lab in the University of British...
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Teens Today are Fighting a Battle
Has mental health become the crisis of a generation? Mental illness diagnoses have been on the rise for years especially among high school students. Research suggests that there are many causes for this but one thing is clear: Teenagers today are fighting a battle...
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Vaping: A Risk for Young People?
Health Canada is ramping up efforts to tackle what it sees as an increasing problem and to warn young Canadians about the potential risks associated with vaping. The government body has launched a multi-phase planned campaign. Both anecdotal information and...
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Phone Detox
I came across a wonderful article in the New York Times on phone detox: Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain - Kevin Roose, New York Times, February 29th, 2019 "I’ve been a heavy phone user for my entire adult life. But sometime last year, I...
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Changing Education Paradigms
Sir Ken Robinson, a world-renowned education and creativity expert, fascinatingly talks about reasons to change education. We are still doing what we did in the past and this is alienating kids, according to Robinson. Robinson suggests that we need to think...
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No Magic Formula
There is no magic formula for creating a healthy school community. There is no one-size-fits-all. Dr. Dan Reist of The Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), writes about the comprehensive school health approach that seeks to nurture a variety of...
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School Health: Key Elements
School health research suggests that school communities need to have a variety of opportunities that will assist the school population to reach its full potential. A shared vision with realistic goals Collaboration based on trust and shared responsibility is central...
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Research Brief: Transition from Middle School to High School
What does the research say about effective transition systems between the middle grades and high school? The research brief “Transition from Middle School to High School" starts with a summary of findings. The opening sentences state that: The most successful schools...
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10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now
Will author Jaron Lanier, a tech pioneer, convince you to delete your social media accounts? The author’s hope is that his book "Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now" will at least make people realize that they’re being inducted into this...
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Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?
Be sure to watch this powerful video. "Why I Refuse to Let Technology Control Me." "You need not drastically minimize your time on social media and commit to spending time completely unplugged. The message is simple, be balanced, be mindful, be present, be here."
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Schools as a Setting for Promoting Positive Mental Health
“Participation in school activities, engagement in the school process, and a sense of belonging are crucial elements in keeping young people on a positive life path.” (Bower, Carroll and Ashman, 2012, pg.10) This quote is included in Schools as a Setting for Promoting...
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A Call to Action
“Leadership demands vision to see the path before us, the courage to take it and the strength to follow it.” – Dr. Jeff Turnbull, Past President, Canadian Medical Assn. Not just hope, not just words, but purposeful action. Action Stations Youth need to be provided...
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What are the Answers?
If “it takes a village to raise a child” then what does it mean to be a village? What is the role of connection technologies in our educational community and family settings? How do we help change the context of our children’s lives? One size does not fit all. Take...
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A School’s Guide to Success: The Seven Cs
Part I: Community Assessment Concentrating on Senior-Level Support Creating a Cohesive Team Collecting Data to Drive Health Efforts Carefully Crafting an Operating Plan Choosing Appropriate Interventions Creating Supportive Environments Consistently Evaluating...
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Homework We Should Set
We should assign: One hour extra sleep 20 minutes outside cardio Small screens off after dinner Hang with friends f2f Join a team/group Read a book Write a letter/journal with a pen/pencil Tell a yarn and have an argument Contribute and make a difference Stuart Taylor...
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FOUNDRY: A focus on wellness
In 2007 a small team of psychiatrists at St Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver decided to take a completely different approach to helping young people aged 12-24. Their focus is on wellness, empowering young people to live a balanced and fulfilling life. FOUNDRY offers...
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Teens and Sexting
With sexting on the rise parents and educators are grappling with how best to protect teens: preach abstinence or teach them how to be safe? Most teenagers, at increasingly younger ages, are going to deal with some kind of sexting-related experience. In February 2018,...
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Self-Control: Predictor of Future Success
The Dunedin, New Zealand Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study is regarded as one of the most intense and consequential investigations into human development ever undertaken. The team of researchers began collecting data in the early 1970s on more than 1,000...
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NMK – Not My Kid
Parents can be in denial about the secret digital lives many teens are leading and the array of consequences that can result. Examples: Meeting strangers, some of them adults, on a variety of apps Taking risqué photos in disguised vault apps, then trading the photos...
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Decade of Digital Dependence (DDD)
While still debated, the potential for Internet or digital devices to have addictive qualities is an emerging concern. The intrusion of electronic devices (laptop, tablet, cell phone) allows students to divide attention between the classroom and other unrelated...
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Eighth Grade Movie
Written and directed by Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade shows Kayla navigating her last days of Grade 8. The director captures early-adolescent awkwardness, pain and insecurities with empathy and a comic touch. Kayla is a painfully introverted middle-schooler who gives perky...
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Taking Care of Your Mental Health
The Canadian Mental Health Association's Health Meter describes how understanding the characteristics that make up good mental health will help you determine how mentally fit you are. Try their other mental health activities: Work-Life Balance Quiz What’s Your Stress...
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Helpful Wellness Modules
The Here to Help website contains very useful wellness modules. Here to Help is a project of the BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information. Ups and downs are a normal part of life. We all feel a bit stressed out or struggle to cope with a problem from...
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