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Celebrating and Promoting Children’s Mental Health

Children’s Mental Health Week is happening May 5-11 in Ontario. It’s a time to focus on the important ways we can promote and nurture the mental health and well-being of our children.

Mental Health: A State Of Well-Being

Did you know that we ALL have mental health? It is more than just the absence of illness. Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes their own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fru itfully, and is able to make a contribution to their community (World Health Organization). Indigenous teaching reminds us that mental wellness is a balance of the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional parts of ourselves and is enriched when individuals experience purpose, hope, belonging and mean-ing in their lives (First Nations Mental Wellness Continuum Framework). A child’s mental health is just as important as their physical health when it comes to success at school, in friendships and in life.

Here are some key tips and strategies to nurture your child’s mental health and resilience from your PDSB Mental Health Resource Team:

Safe, responsive relationships between adults and children is our greatest tool for promoting positive development and mental health in youth. When a child has consistent, caring adults in their life both at home and in the community, when they know they are loved and valued no matter what, and have someone trusted they can turn to when a problem arises, their resilience is bolstered.

Listen and validate feelings. Encourage children to talk about their thoughts and feelings, and show lots of love and acceptance. Keep the con-versation flowing by asking open-ended questions and spending quality time together at mealtimes and by participating together in activities your child enjoys.

Help Your Child Develop a Positive Sense of Self. A child’s self-perception is linked with their mental health. Help them set realistic goals; praise them for effort as well as achievement by providing genuine, realistic praise. Foster positive connections with their cultural or faith com-munity. A child with high self-esteem believes they are a good person, understands their positive qualities and strives for a successful, happy life.

Model and Teach Healthy Ways to Manage Stress. While it’s important to try to protect your child from overwhelming or toxic stress, not all stress is bad. In fact, some stress helps us motivate and prepare us to perform our best, and there is bound to be some stress after a disagree-ment with friends or being cut from a sports team. Give your child the tools they need to cope with stress and big feelings in a healthy way: establish healthy habits including exercise, getting enough sleep and proper nutrition; practicing gratitude and deep breathing, journalling or talking with a trusted adult are just a few examples.

Notice Changes and Reach Out for Help. If you notice signs that your child feels sad or overly anxious about normal situations like going to school or meeting new people, take note. A change in mood or behaviour that lasts more than two weeks, impacting social problems, academic issues or family problems could be sign of a mental health concern. Keep the lines of communication open with your child’s teacher and other caring adults in their life to discuss observations. Remember, there is no age too early for a child or family to see a mental health provider; in fact, it might benefit the whole family by providing resources and support to caregivers who may be struggling, too.

Where Can I Get Help?

At school, your child can reach out to their teacher, coach, guidance teacher or school administrator as a starting point, to talk about their mental health. Every PDSB school is also assigned Social Work and Psychology staff to provide consultation and direct service to students, and assist students and families to get connected to helpful resources in the community.

In the community, visit www.WhereToStart.ca to access mental health services for children and youth in Peel. For a quick guide to mental health resources, visit bit.ly/PeelYouthResources.

For more tips on building mental health and resilience, visit bit.ly/ResiliencyTips

For updates and to follow along with the work of the PDSB Mental Health Resource Team, find them on Twitter @MHRTPeel.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR GRADE 3 EQAO EQAO testing will run from Tuesday May 21st to Wednesday May 29th 2019. Please keep in mind the following reminders:

Ensure your child has a good night’s sleep before each test day

Provide your child with a healthy breakfast

Have your child dress comfortable

Ensure your child is present each day, during this time period and on time Please send a room temperature bottled water with your child (Frozen and chilled bottles sweat, and water can damage test materials and manipulative)

Frozen Yogurt Is Back

Frozen yogurt will be sold on Mondays and Wednesdays between

1:50pm and 2:20pm for $1.25 each. Please make sure your child

brings in exact change.

Milk Days at Harold F. Loughin

Please remember milk is on sale every month. White milk or chocolate

milk can be purchased through cash online. Please send in your orders

for the next month within the last 3 days of each month.

H. F. Loughin puts the spotlight on Asian Heritage In December 2001, the Senate adopted a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Poy to officially designate May as Asian Heritage Month in Canada. In May 2002, the Government of Canada signed an official declaration to designate May as Asian Heritage Month. Throughout May, students, staff, and parents from across Peel will participate in a number of activities that promote the understanding of the many contributions made by Asian Canadians. H. F. Loughin is proud to celebrate Asian Heritage Month by hosting special events consisting of trivia contests, Cultural Dress Day, and Tuesday Treats to celebrate and learn about the diverse cultures of Asian Canadians. Cultural Dress Day will take place on Friday May 24th; wear your cultural dress to school to share the differences that make our country diverse and beautiful! Tuesday Treats will only be available through a pre-order procedure. All money is due the Friday before Tuesday Treats. The dates and treats for Tuesday Treats are: May 7th = Vegetarian Samosas May 14th = Fortune Cookies May 21st = Vegetarian Spring Rolls May 28th = Filipino Crinkles (chocolate cookies)

Peel schools honour police officers during Police Appreciation Week

The Peel District School Board will pay tribute to police officers by holding Police Appreciation Week from May 13 to 17, 2019. Peel students and staff will show their appreciation for the tremendous job being done by police to protect schools, homes and communities. Police Appreciation Week coincides with National Police Week. National Police Week pays tribute to the work of police officers across Canada.

During this week, students, staff and parents in schools throughout Brampton, Caledon and Mississauga will honour the work of police officers and thank them for enhancing public safety and security.

May 15 – Celebrate Peel IT Support Staff and Media Support Services Appreciation Day

This year, the Peel District School Board will recognize the contributions of its IT support staff and media support services on May 15, 2019. The Peel board appreciates the important work of these individuals to ensure that innovative, reliable and adaptable solutions are available to support student success through equitable access to technology. We thank them for providing quality service and for supporting students and staff every day.

What is an IEP?

Education is full of acronyms and IEP is one of many that a parent/guardian of a child receiving special education support will encounter.

An IEP is an Individual Education Plan. Developed at the beginning of the school year, it lays out the accommodations and modifications to the regular curriculum that help your child learn and be successful. No formal identification is needed but you, the parent/guardian should be involved in the development as you provide valuable input. It can be overwhelming so there are pamphlets, webpages, and Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) representatives who can help you understand and make informed contributions.

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month. Let's thank the professionals who help our children with their speech and language challenges.

For more information, please visit www.peelschools.org/parents/specialed/iep

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Register today for Adult ESL or LINC classes

Do you know an adult who is interested in improving their English language skills for work, study or daily life?

Through the Continuing & Adult Education department, the Peel District School Board offers a wide variety of English language classes that help adult learners experience success in Canadian English in both listening/speaking and reading/writing. Courses are designed for a range of basic, intermediate and advanced English (Levels 1 to 8) as well as the more experienced learner needing to prepare for an IELTS exam.

Classes are ongoing - Register anytime.

All learners who complete a session will earn a certificate of learning from the Peel District School Board. Certificates of completion at Canadian Language Benchmark level 4 and greater can be submitted as proof of language proficiency for Canadian Citizenship applications.

Classes operate from six locations in Brampton and Mississauga with three specially designed adult centres at:

Bramalea - Adult Education Centre – Bramalea Secondary School, 510 Balmoral Dr, Brampton, Door #33

Brampton - Adult Education Centre - #300 - 7700 Hurontario Street, Brampton

Mississauga - Adult Education Centre - 100 Elm Drive West, Mississauga, Room 117

To learn more or to register, call 905-270-6000, then press 2

Also visit www.peelschools.org/adulteducation or follow us on Twitter: @PDSBLearnESL

We Welcome the World Centres The Peel District School Board’s We Welcome the World Centres located in Brampton, Malton and Mississauga, are the first point of contact for all newcomer families to become familiar with the educational system in Peel. The centres are open all year—including the summer months— from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In addition to providing literacy and numeracy assessments, the We Welcome the World Centres provide newcomers with a host of services including: reception, orientation, interpretation and referrals.

At each centre, parents/guardians and students will discover:

settlement service information

age and grade appropriate educational and related program resources

information about various community supports

translation of materials to support the reception and assessment process

computer portals— providing information on Peel resources

For more information about the We Welcome the World Centre and the services they provide, call 905-366-8791.

Using social media safely

With the growing number of social media sites, it is no surprise that social media is the most common form of communication for children and teenagers. Posts, status updates, comments, instant messages, video uploads, tweets and texts have become a regular part of their lives. While there are many positive benefits to using social media, including staying connected with friends and expressing your interests, students must be cautious in their use of these networks.

Among the most popular social media platforms used are Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and Whatsapp Messenger. Many of these platforms are free and are available on smartphones and other electronic devices. These platforms are easy to navigate and often allow information to be shared instantly, not only with friends, but with strangers. On social media, it is important to remember that the world is watching.

Here are some tips, provided by the Canadian Safe School Network and GetSafeOnline.org, to keep your children safe and help them make smart choices when using social media:

Set some boundaries for your child before they get their first ‘connected device’ (mobile, tablet, laptop or games console). Once they have it, it can be more difficult to change the way they use it or the settings.

Have a conversation about what is appropriate online behaviour and what actions could have huge

repercussions that could damage their reputation and be harmful to others.

Talk to your child about the kind of websites they look at. Encourage them to speak to you if they come across something they find worrying or upsetting on websites, games or social media.

Discuss with your child what is safe and appropriate to post and share online. Written comments, photos and videos all form part of their ‘digital footprint’ and could be seen by anyone and available on the internet forever, even if it is subsequently deleted.

Explain to your child that being online doesn’t give them anonymity or protection, and that they

shouldn’t do anything online that they wouldn’t do face-to-face. Users should only accept people they

know in order to protect themselves from spammers, strangers and others who may be using social

networking sites to commit crimes.

Unlike when they’re meeting someone face-to-face, children don’t always know who they’re actually ‘talking’ to online, even if they think they do. Tell your children they must never email, chat, or text with strangers, and it’s never okay to meet a stranger in the real world.

Ensure your children set their privacy settings appropriately. Take the time to learn how privacy settings work on your children’s favourite sites, and teach them how to control their privacy.

Tell your children never to share personal and private information with anyone online. This includes, but

is not limited to, his or her full name, age, birth date, address, phone number, social insurance number,

credit card information and parents’ full names.

Limit the amount of time that your children spend on social media platforms and talk about the

importance of healthy and appropriate use of technology.

HAR O L D F. L O UGHIN SC HO O L N EWSL ETTER

Dear Harold F Loughin Families,

Finally!! We are getting some sunshine and warm temperatures and our students are

making the most of it as they get many opportunities to enjoy some outdoor activities with

their educators.

Celebrations in April: We have had a very busy yet a lot of fun April this year. Our staff

and students started the month off with celebrating the Day of PINK on April 10th. Our

Education Week‟s „Future is Coming’ theme has kept our staff and students engaged in a

Collaborative Inquiry process. Each class participated in a number of interesting

educational activities around their „Future Robot or City‟. These activities ranged from

participating in bulletin board decorations, Robot & City building competition based on

their inquiry report, to trivia, and much more. Thank you all for coming out to attend our

Spring Concert during the Education Week Open House. Our students proudly showcased

their musical, dramatic and dance skills to our cheerful audience. Throughout the night,

school halls, classrooms and the gym were buzzing with cheerful, exciting and appreciative

comments by parents as our students proudly shared their learning displayed all around

the school. The annual Book Fair was a huge success as many of our students and parents

came out to purchase books of their choice and demonstrated the love for reading and

learning. We presented the Award of Distinction to our amazing teacher Mrs. Scott, who

goes above and beyond her duty call as she supports our students, staff and community.

May Sneak Peak: Staff and students are preparing many outdoor activities for our

students including Cross Country Run, Play Day, and much more. Our staff and students

are preparing to celebrate Asian Heritage throughout the month of May. Our next Movie

Night is organized for May 2nd. We will be watching the classic movie “Lion King” this

time. Our Grade 3 students are working hard as they will be participating in the EQAO

assessment process during the month of May . We are preparing to welcome our youngest

learners to our H. F. Loughin family and will be holding ’Start with a Smile’ session on

May 30th for our newly registered year 1 Kindergarten friends and their families for a

„Meet & Greet‟ and orientation session. Students are thrilled to raise funds to support

Canadian Heart and Stroke Organization through the annual Jump Rope for Heart event

this month. Our goal is to raise $1000 this year.

We are looking for parent volunteers who would like to help out with organizing and

distributing Pizza on Fridays. If you are available and interested to support during school

hours every Friday, please contact the main office as soon as possible. Our students and

staff will greatly appreciate the support.

I wish you all a fantastic, safe and happy month ahead!!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ejaz

May 2019

Harold F. Loughin School Newsletter

Contact Information

Harold. F. Loughin Public School

39 Herkley Drive Brampton, ON L6V 2E7

Phone: (905) 457-6812

Fax: (905) 457-6477

Principal: Mrs. A. Ejaz

Office Manager:

Mrs. L. Taylor

Office Assistant: Mrs. S. Syed

Superintendent: Michelle Stubbings

Trustee: David Green

Please report all absences by:

Phone: 1-855-209-6155

Website: go.schoolmessenger.ca

App: SchoolMessenger

Harold F. Loughin

Website:

http://schools.peelschools.org/15

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Follow Us on Twitter @HaroldFLoughin