Be the ‘I’ in Kind

Posted on October 10, 2019 by tdrummondkcs

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” – Aesop

Initiated in 1992 by the World Federation for Mental Health, October 10 is recognized in over 150 countries as World Mental Health Day. The purpose of World Mental Health Day is “raising awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health.”

Here at KCS, we have made it a priority to do just that by promoting student well-being and educating both our students and our families about mental health. By recognizing World Mental Health Day and other events that promote mental health awareness, we can broaden everyone’s understanding about the importance of taking care of not only our physical health, but also our mental health.

The focus of World Mental Health Day this year is suicide prevention. This is a topic of great importance as more than 800,000 people die by suicide a year, making it the principal cause of death among people fifteen to twenty-nine years old. While we know this is a troubling and complex issue, we must do our part to help remove the stigma that surrounds talking about suicide and its impact on all age groups.

However, we also know that this is a challenging topic for many of our learners to understand, so we wanted to address the issue in an age-appropriate manner. Therefore, we have chosen to help recognize World Mental Health Day 2019 by inviting all of our school community to share in one simple message – being “The I in Kind.” One simple act of kindness can brighten someone’s day, let them know they matter and that someone cares about them. This gesture can make a significant difference in one’s day.

To help share this message, we hung a banner in our school lobby and are asking everyone to literally be the “I” in kind. Of course, this is not a new topic in our school, but this week our teachers have spent a little more time talking to the students about what it means to be kind and how it shows others that you care.

Students are being encouraged to “catch” each other being kind and then write about it. As well, we are encouraging everyone – students, faculty, staff, and parents – to take their picture in front of the banner, share it on social media, and spread the word about how sharing acts of kindness can also help spread awareness about the importance of mental health education.

Kind acts are like a stone thrown into a pond. The acts ripple outwards and have impacts we may never even know about. Every single one of us will have people in our lives who will struggle with mental health issues at some point. But when we talk about mental health, we help those in need feel less alone. And if we make the world a kinder place, we create ripples that can ease pain, give hope, and maybe even help save a life. I got caught being kind tamara i in kind

Remember, be kind to yourself

Posted on April 10, 2019 by dlbowes

Throughout my years as a teacher I have found that I am often learning as much from my students as they are from me. Working with the youngest students at KCS I am continuously taught to enjoy the little things in life. To appreciate the first snowfall of the year, and the second, and the third, to revel at the intricacies of an insect’s body, and see the beauty in every flower or weed. However, the biggest lesson I have learned came from a group of students I do not often see.

This year the grade 4s have been amazing anti-bullying heroes (as deemed by Mrs. Drummond). Recently they were visited by Jason from MLSE (Community, Alumni & Educational Program Specialist, Toronto Argonauts) for a pre-assembly workshop for the upcoming Huddle Up assembly. He spoke to them about how being proud of who you are and being part of a strong community helps to deter and diffuse bullying.

Out of this conversation came a great initiative from the grade 4s. They asked that each person in the school make their own trading card. This card would have a list of two to five positive qualities about yourself along with a picture. Once done you could show others your card in the hall, at lunch, or during recess.

Dbowes

As I sat down to complete this task I realized that bullying is not just an external force. That more often than not it can be an internal one. We often think of a bully as someone else who may say or do things to hurt us. We don’t often consider the fact that we can be our own bullies.

If asked to write a list of positive qualities for anyone here at KCS I wouldn’t skip a beat. I could rhyme off a number of things without hesitation. However, when it came time to write my own list I sat there for a very long time considering what to write. It wasn’t because I thought there were too many things to choose from. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I had no idea what to write. Ultimately, being a huge Harry Potter fan I went with some qualities used to describe my Hogwarts House.

Once again I ended up learning just as much from the students as they do from me. Whether intentional or not, the grade 4s have taught me that I need to stop being my own bully, and remember to be kinder to myself. This is a lesson I will take with me through the good days and the bad and I will be forever grateful to a group of 8 and 9 year olds for teaching me this very valuable lesson.

WHAT WILL YOU BE TALKING ABOUT ON JANUARY 30?

Posted on January 28, 2019 by tdrummondkcs

When we talk openly, accurately, and without judgement about mental health, we are making a difference for those who are affected by it. Who are those that are affected by mental health? As the tag line for Bell Let’s Talk Day has said for the past two years “Mental health affects us all.” Just like we all have physical health, we all have mental health. Just like we can all get physically ill or be in physical distress, we can all experience mental illness or mental distress. The more we know about mental health and the better we understand it, the more that we can help ourselves, our friends and family, and society at large access the supports and resources needed from both a prevention and an intervention standpoint.

As part of their message, Bell Let’s Talk promotes five ways to help end the stigma around mental illness:

Language matters
Be kind
Educate yourself
Listen and ask
Talk about it

One way we help promote such an understanding is through our Encouraging Dialogue speaker series. On Tuesday, January 29, we will be hosting Dr. Greg Wells, author of The Ripple Effect: Sleep Better, Eat Better, Move Better, Think Better. His talk is focused on the four stages of physical and mental wellness, how they are interconnected, and how simple changes can create a ripple effect that improves overall functioning. He will share this message with our grade 5 – 8 students in the afternoon, and then address our parents and the wider community that evening.

Talking about mental health is not something that we shy away from here at KCS. We understand the need to reduce the stigma around mental health and help everyone better understand that if you are experiencing a mental health issue you are not alone, you will not be judged, we will listen, and we will work with you and your family to get you the help and support that you need. Through avenues such as our Talk That Matters series for students, our above mentioned Encouraging Dialogue Speaker Series for parents and the wider community, Children’s Mental Health week, and Bell Let’s Talk day, we are able to educate and promote an understanding about mental health and overall wellness. But we aren’t going to stop there. We purposefully embed wellness, physical health, and mental health into what we do every day in all of our classes at every grade level. Discussions and learning about a variety of topics take place. Some such topics are: being active, healthy eating, getting enough sleep, and taking time for ourselves. Our students also learn about mindfulness, yoga, movement, other stress-reducing strategies and who we can talk to and what we can do if we aren’t feeling healthy.

To strengthen our understanding about mental health and how we can help someone who is in distress, beginning in 2013, all of our faculty and staff have been certified in Mental Health First Aid, a 16-hour course provided by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. This past August, we completed a refresher course. We are also all certified in Red Cross First Aid; however, ask any of our faculty or staff and they will tell you that they use what they learned in their mental health first aid far more frequently than what they learned in physical first aid.

To continue our students thinking about mental health, and in support of the important initiative of Bell Let’s Talk Day, we asked all of our students from PK through grade 8 to think about what they could say, what they could do, or how they or someone else might feel if they were experiencing a mental health issue. They shared those ideas by filling in a speech bubble, a hand, or a heart. Take a moment to look at the display in our front lobby and you will see our students are doing their part to reduce the stigma and understand that mental health matters.

On Wednesday, January 30, there will be a lot of talk about mental health. Please join the conversation and help raise awareness about and funds for mental health. However, I challenge you to keep the conversation going and make mental health part of what you talk about every day.

World Mental Health Day Every Day

Posted on October 10, 2018 by tdrummondkcs

“There is a growing recognition of the importance of helping young people build mental resilience, from the earliest ages, in order to cope with the challenges of today’s world.” – World Health Organization

October 10 is World Mental Health Day, a day set aside by the World Health Organization (WHO) to educate, increase awareness, and mobilize efforts to promote better mental health around the globe. This year, the focus for World Mental Health Day is Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World, a topic that is obviously near and dear to the hearts of everyone at KCS.

For far too long, mental health was seen something that mainly affected adults. It just wasn’t on the radar when it came to young kids. But one only has to glance at the statistics and facts provided by organizations such as CAMH to see that there is a clear need for families and schools to pay close attention to the mental health of our young people. Perhaps most telling of all is the fact that 70 per cent of mental health problems begin during childhood or adolescence.

Faced with numbers like that, it’s clear that we must continue to make mental health awareness a core component of our overall wellness strategies at KCS. Events like World Mental Health Day and the annual Bell “Let’s Talk” campaign certainly help to bring greater awareness and understanding that helps to reduce the stigma around mental illness. But it can’t stop at awareness. Any effective strategy must also include a proactive approach to both prevention and recovery.

We know that when children are given the skills that they need to foster resiliency and accept challenges as an obstacle they are able to work at to overcome, they are better equipped to cope with adversity and the inevitable bumps in the road of life. Because early intervention is key, learning these skills can and must begin at a very young age. When children learn and recognize that they do have the skills and the strength to pick themselves up and dust themselves off after something does not go as planned, they are building up that resiliency.

At KCS we recognize this and continue to make mental health a fundamental priority. Beginning right from PK, our students are encouraged to talk about and recognize their feelings. Social-emotional growth and development is an intentional component of our curriculum, and the adults in the building use those “teachable moments” to role model and discuss dealing with disappointment and asking for help. Our faculty and staff are certified in Mental Health First Aid, allowing us to recognize early warning signs and symptoms of mental distress, and assist our students in getting the help they need.

We also recognize that we need to help our entire school community better understand the importance of mental health and wellness. Through our Encouraging Dialogue Speaker Series, we have shared information about brain development, mental health, and our children, volunteerism and contributing to the community, moving from stress to strength, developing resiliency, internet, and online safety, and we will continue in January 2019 when Greg Wells – author of The Ripple Effect – comes to speak with us about our overall well-being. The more we talk about mental health, the better we understand its importance – not just on World Mental Health Day, but every day.

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Keeping the Conversation Going

Posted on March 16, 2018 by KCSMATTERS

It’s an astounding statistic that one in five children and youth will experience some form of mental health issue. That’s 20 per cent of our young population fighting a battle against their own mind. What’s more distressing is that five out of six of those children and youth will not get the help they need. For many of these children, it’s because they don’t know where to turn to ask for help, or don’t understand how to vocalize the problems they’re having. For many adults it can be a struggle to identify our emotional needs and feelings, so for children and teenagers it, understandably, becomes a nearly impossible task without help.

Thankfully, Dr. Joanna Henderson, Director of the Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health at CAMH, Dr. Sandra Lee Mendlowitz, Founding Partner of the Clinical Psychology Centre, Dr. Taylor Armstrong, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist at the George Hull Centre for Children and Families and Joshua Miller, Youth Engagement Facilitator at CAMH shared their expertise in youth mental health with more than 250 guests at the Kingsway College School annual Encouraging Dialogue Speaker Series, generously presented by the KCS Parent Network.

Our very special guest panel for the event titled “Mental Wellness: Guiding our Children From Stress to Strength” discussed trends in mental wellness, mental health identifiers, community support resources and strategies and tools for helping to recognize and support our children in times of stress and anxiety.

We are happy to share the video of the full panel presentation from the evening on our YouTube Channel at youtube.com/kcsmatters. Additional resources and speaker presentation slides are also available on our website at kcs.on.ca/speakerseries.

As a nation, Canada is taking great strides towards reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health. Through initiatives like Bell Let’s Talk Day the conversation has started, and KCS is proud to continue to lend our voices in support and encouragement. Let’s keep talking.

Let’s Talk About Mental Health

Posted on January 25, 2018 by tdrummondkcs

It seems a day doesn’t go by that we aren’t reading or hearing about something related to mental health. Although what we read or hear is more often about insufficient services or concerning statistics, especially among youth, at least we are beginning the conversation! The more we talk about, educate, and promote an understanding around mental health, the more it will discourage people from seeing themselves or others struggling with a mental health issue as fundamentally different from anyone else.

As the tagline for this year’s Bell Let’s Talk Day says, “Mental Health Affects Us All.” Anyone can be affected by mental health concerns, at any age. A mental health problem occurs when thoughts or feelings continue for a long time, become overwhelming, and make it difficult to carry on with typical daily activities. Two people who are experiencing the same event, social circumstance, challenge or success in life will not react and respond in the same way. How they react and respond is influenced by many factors (biology, life events and experiences, personality, social circumstances, age, etc.), and even two siblings can have different reactions. However, we do know that everyone does better when they are surrounded by a community of people who are kind, compassionate, caring, and understanding. Being open in our thinking, willing to listen without judgement, and accurate in our understanding of what constitutes a mental health issue, allows us to help get or give the support needed.

Stress is a natural and healthy part of life. It keeps us safe, can help us concentrate, focus, get motivated, and even exhilarate us. However, if not kept in check, it can interfere with our ability to carry on with our daily activities, feel crippling, and even lead to further mental health issues. Our mental health is influenced by how we think and feel about life in general, how we cope with everyday stressors, how we feel about ourselves, how we deal with negative things that happen in our lives, and how we manage our emotions. If we have never had to deal with failure or mistakes, or if we are under the belief that if we aren’t happy or stress-free something must be “wrong” with us, when life throws us one of its inevitable curve balls, no matter how big or small, it could have a very negative impact on our mental health. Life is full of both positive and negative events, steps forward and setbacks, and having the strategies and tools to cope will influence how we react and respond, and how that affects our mental health.

When we talk openly, accurately, and without judgement about mental health and mental illness, we are promoting mental wellness and helping to reduce the stigma that surrounds it. By providing opportunities for failure and mistakes, we are teaching our children an important skill and helping to build resiliency. Learning to identify and manage emotions helps us to recognize in ourselves and others when a reaction does not seem to fit the situation. This understanding is something we strive to instill in our students and staff every day at KCS because we know that early diagnosis and intervention are key to helping when a mental health issue arises. Resiliency, positive thinking, self-efficacy, and recognizing and naming emotions won’t stop a mental health problem from occurring, but it will influence how we react and equip us to respond. That can make all the difference.

On Tuesday, January 30, we will be hosting our Encouraging Dialogue speaker series “Mental Wellness: Guiding our Children from Stress to Strength” in order to continue to better inform and educate our community about mental health. As is evinced by our sold-out evening, this is an important topic to discuss, better understand, and keep talking about.

Mental Health

Where Was This Thirty Years Ago?

Posted on February 5, 2016 by lucyrizzuto

KCS_Where-Was-This-30-Years-Ago Last week, staff and students were asked to fill in a thought bubble about what mental health meant to them. After reading many of them, a flood of emotions and memories came to me as I have a brother who lives with a mental illness. Words like “brave” and “hero” put a smile on my face because that’s how I would describe my brother. These were not words I heard when I was a young girl dealing with this issue in my family.

People did not understand that my brother was sick. Maybe if he were in a wheelchair, people would have been more supportive. It is hard to understand something that you cannot see.

We have come so far with raising awareness and decreasing the stigma surrounding mental illness, but we still need to continue with these conversations, not just on Bell Let’s Talk Day. Here, at KCS, teachers encourage these dialogues with their students to promote good mental health. As uncomfortable as it may be for some, we embrace it.

KCS instills in our students key habits such as Act with empathy, Do what is right, and Make the world better. These children will carry kindness and empathy towards others for the rest of their lives. It makes me hopeful that this next generation of students will do their part to end the stigma towards mental illness. This makes my heart happy and it made my brother’s heart also very happy when I told him about what our students were saying!

Lucy Rizzuto
Senior Kindergarten Teacher