Wellness in Peace River School Division
In order for us to learn and be our best, we must feel and be well. Educational research supports this connection and we take this very seriously. We feel we have a great opportunity to not only academically educate our students, but to support, guide, and teach them to honour their overall health and well-being.
To support wellness on a school level in the division, every PRSD school has a designated Youth Education Support Worker, Success Coach or a Family Liaison Worker. The role of PRSD’s Youth Education Support Workers, Success Coaches and our Family Liaison Worker is to promote positive mental health in children, youth and families while working closely with school staff. This ranges from presentations, activities and programming that supports problem solving, emotional management, targeted topics, skills for learning, adolescent empowerment, healthy relationships, mindfulness, teamwork and leadership. PRSD also has three divisional Social Workers that provide one-on-one support to students in need.
We also encourage and support our students to be leaders, involved in the community and work together as a team - attributes that serve and inspire our students, communities and society as a whole. Students are also provided with opportunities to represent their school through various committees such as PRSD’s Student Engagement Teams and PRSD’s Anti-racism Committee.
Healthy eating and active living are important components to health and wellness and we support this through ongoing education, encouraging healthy canteen and vending machine choices, and by providing a broad range of physical education activities in the division.
In closing, I would like to thank all our students, families and staff who completed the Student Mental Health and Wellness Survey sent to students in grades 7-12, parents and staff in early February. The data collected from the survey will be used to leverage the board’s advocacy efforts to impact positive change to support students and families in having access to the supports and services they need.
Paul Bennett,
PRSD Superintendent of Schools