Last updated: November 26, 2024

Looking to infuse wellness into your classroom, school, or school authority all year long? Watch this page for new resources, announcements, and tips for health-related theme days. We've got you covered!

Announcements:

  • Level the playing field with support from the Jays Care Foundation

  • Calling all K-9 teachers: New health and wellness lesson plan pilot

  • Register today for Healthy Schools Certification!

New resources:

  • Help families strike up helpful holiday conversations about substance use

  • New lesson plan to help high school students with online habits and digital stress.  

  • Explore the New Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Physical Health & Education (PHE) Resource Page

  • New action plan templates for healthy schools  

  • New National Guide for Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion in Schools: A national guide for system leaders.

 

Mark your calendar

Announcements

  

Level the playing field with support from the Jays Care Foundation

The Jays Care Foundation helps children and youth facing barriers to access inclusive extracurricular softball/baseball programs. Applications are now open for Jays Care Affiliate Schools. Selected schools will get support to launch inclusion-focused extracurricular softball or baseball programs, with a focus on priority groups (self-identified girls, youth with physical or cognitive disabilities, Indigenous youth, and youth facing poverty).

As a school community, you’ll need to make a commitment to offer 8 weeks of programming for 1-2 hours per week. There’s lots of support to help you along the way, including baseball equipment, shirts and hats for students, virtual training sessions, manuals, and other resources for program leaders.

To learn more, go to Jayscare.com/Schools.

  

Calling all K-9 teachers - New health and wellness lesson plan pilot 

The Body Image Research Lab at the University of Calgary's Werklund School of Education, and AHS’ Nutrition Services have developed new health and wellness lesson plans for Alberta educators! 

They are looking for your feedback to ensure these lesson plans meet your and your students' needs.  To access the lesson plans and survey, visit https://together4health.albertahealthservices.ca/teaching-food-and-nutrition  

The deadline to provide feedback is November 30, 2024  

 

Register today for Healthy Schools Certification!  

Healthy Schools Certification is a recognition program for school communities that promotes and enhances the health and wellness of students and staff. It’s available across Canada with support from Ever Active Schools, Ophea, and PHE Canada.  

Registration for the 2024-25 school year opens Tuesday, September 10, 2024, and closes on Friday, November 29, 2024, at 10:00pm (MST).  

To get started, go to healthyschools.ca.   

      

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New resources

 

Help families strike up helpful holiday conversations about substance use 

Just in time for the holiday break, AHS has released Talking to Children and Teens About Substance Use: A handbook for parents, caregivers, and youth allies. 

For no cost, you can order print copies of the handbook to share with families in your school community. You can also order free promotional bookmarks (with QR codes that link to the online version of the resource). Here’s how: 

  • Enter the username tobaccopublic and the password dwcal2012 
  • Click on catalogue and choose the items to add to your cart 
  • Fill out your mailing address so AHS can ship the materials to you at no cost 

Both the handbooks and bookmarks will make a great addition to your school learning commons (library) or counselling office. You can also give them out at parent-teacher conferences or other school events. 

Talking to Children and Teens About Substance Use is geared to adults with children in grades 4-12, but it also has conversation-starters to use with younger kids. 

For more information, go to ahs.ca/talktips.  

Still have questions? Email tvcp@ahs.ca.  

  

New lesson plan to help high school students with online habits and digital stress.  

Media Smarts has created a free lesson plan Dealing with Digital Stress to help grade 9-12 students think about their time online and learn ways to handle stress from using the internet. 

 

Explore the New Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in Physical Health & Education (PHE) Resource Page

The new Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) webpage is a hub to find helpful resources from Physical Health and Education (PHE) Canada. These resources can support school communities in making their spaces safe and welcoming for all students, by making daily health and wellness activities inclusive and accessible. On this page, you can find free tools and training to help you understand important EDI concepts and grow your skills. 

  

New Action Plan Templates for Healthy Schools 

Taking the time to prioritize and plan is an important step in enhancing your healthy school community. Check out AHS’s new action planning templates! These will help you decide what really matters to your school community so you can choose strategies that will move your priorities forward.

 

New National Guide for Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion in Schools: A national guide for system leaders 

A National Guide for Suicide Prevention and Life Promotion in Schools has been created by the School Mental Health Ontario team with the Mental Health Commission of Canada and We Matter. This guide is to help school leaders support students to prevent youth suicide in Canada. 

 

 

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Mark your calendar 

Taking part in health-related days, weeks, or month-long events is a great way to bring your school community together. These events can raise awareness of health topics and kick-start important conversations around wellness at school.

Be sure to connect health-related events back to the priorities, goals, and action plans in place in your school or school authority. Use the comprehensive school health framework to guide activities that are coordinated, meaningful, and likely to last.

 

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