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As this is Pink Shirt Month, we hope you can all take the time to focus on supporting kindness for yourselves as well as others. We are half way through the school year, and the hope is that extra sunlight, counsellor consultation support and hopeful news on the COVID front will support us all in our mental health and reservoir of kindness!
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 | Counsellor Meeting Dates:
Please hold the following dates for Counsellor Zoom meetings starting at 8:30am:
February 25th
April 6th
May 19th
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| Children and Youth in Care: Supporting Success in School The CYIC Team has been working to create a standard of practice that promotes collaborative planning between school team members, community supports, families, guardians, MCFD social workers, and Indigenous delegated agencies to better support all CYIC students.
The new process includes an overview document, updated App and Supporting Success in School Plan (SSSP) to support CYIC students in the areas of Social Emotional Development, Identity, Cultural Connections, Literacy, and Numeracy.
Every school has a Point Person who is working with administrators to collaborate, create the SSSP, and monitor student progress for each CYIC student in their school. CYIC Zoom sessions are underway to roll out the new process.
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 | Research on transitions to University - Zoom We are hosting a Zoom presentation with UVIC's Dr Lisa Surridge reviewing her research on what factors contribute to successful transition to university for students. The Workshop is on Monday Feb 22nd 9:00am - 10:30. The workshop is open to counsellors and career teachers. Zoom
invite:
https://uvic.zoom.us/j/82504202558825 0420 2558
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For more information please visit the CYIC page password is GVSDINCLUSION.
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 | Updated Community Resources:
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Hope by CAMH is a free smartphone app that provides suicide prevention information, tools and crisis resources to support and guide individuals when they are experiencing thoughts of suicide. One of the key features of this app is the ability for individuals to create a personalized suicide safety plan, which can be done in consultation with their healthcare professional, loved one, or someone who they have a trusting relationship with. The Hope by CAMH safety plan can be accessed at any time – especially if an individual is experiencing thoughts of suicide – and it can be updated as their situation changes.
It is now available for download on Android and iOS.
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| Calling parents and youth in BC! The MyHEARTSMAP team needs your help to measure how much and in what ways the changes in our lives during the pandemic have affected the social and psychological wellness of our children and youth. Learning about our children's needs will help guide our provincial mental health resource planning.
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Counsellor Meeting February 25 The February counsellor meeting is Feb. 25 8:30 - 10:00am. The first 45 minutes will be for all counsellors (teacher counsellors and YFCs) and the second half of the meeting will be divided into 2 meetings: elementary/middle and secondary teacher-counsellors. Agenda items will include updates on ongoing projects, resources, and emerging topics from counsellors. Zoom invites will be sent out prior. Please contact any of the District Counsellors if you need the invitation resent.
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Care for yourself in February by joining our Caring for You Workshop! This popular interactive, virtual workshop promotes social emotional learning, personal wellness, and adult self-care.
We know from the research that it is essential that we take care of ourselves and foster our own well-being so that we have the capacity to nurture it in the children in our lives.
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Participants will:
Engage in their own social and emotional learning and deepen their understanding of evidence informed ways to strengthen their own Heart-Mind well-being and that of the adults, youth and children in their lives.
Explore self-care strategies that include self-compassion, breathing exercises, mindfulness, gratitude and happiness practices, and stress management techniques. There will be opportunity for self reflection and to identify ways of integrating Heart-Mind well-being in their own lives.
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| Virtual - Secure and Calm Institute (Feb.11) 10:00-12:00 (Pacific) This workshop provides practical tools for fostering Secure and Calm in practice. This workshop deepens participants understanding of Heart-Mind Well-Being (HMWB). It would be helpful to attend our foundational HMWB workshop beforehand but it is not a prerequisite.
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This workshop will be of interest to anyone caring for children, including parents, early childhood educators, family support workers, and other service providers.
Participants will:
Develop strategies for creating a safe and supportive environment for children
Explore the Secure and Calm toolkit containing practical tools for promoting HMWB
Experience how calming strategies such as conscious breathing and mindfulness activities can be integrated into daily life
Make personal connections to the work of promoting HMWB |
Secure and Calm Toolkit
The Dalai Lama Center (DLC) has created a Secure and Calm Toolkit that accompanies this workshop. It provides tools that can be used at home, in schools, childcare programs etc to help children calm down, build emotional understanding, and develop self-regulation.
Toolkit contents:
Secure and Calm Resource Guide
Emotion Card Set
Calm Card Set
Feelings Gauge
'I Feel"...Chart
Pillow Full of Feelings
Fidget Objects
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 | Second Step Second Step Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) gives students the tools to excel and out of the classroom. This easy-to-teach program garners outstanding reviews from educators who've noticed schoolwide improvement and individual student progress in emotion management, situational awareness, and academic achievement.
For teachers and counsellors who have yet to receive professional development with this resource, the following training dates and release time are available.
Feb.1/4 12:30-3:00 (Introductory sessions)
Feb. 8/May 17 12:30-3:00 (Implementation sessions)
Feb.9/May 20 12:30-300 (Implementation sessions)
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| Kelty Mental Health has teamed up with the BC Children’s Hospital Provincial ADHD Program to bring parents and caregivers a series of free webinars! You'll hear about a variety of topics to support children and youth with ADHD, including webinars on the basics of ADHD, treatment options, tips for parenting a child with ADHD, and supporting your child with ADHD in school.
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Y Teen Mind (10 week program)
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This poster encourages students to use positive peer pressure and to support each other to remain vape free.
Advice from a peer is often more influential and can impact the choices friends make more than an adult can at times.
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The goal of this poster is to make teens aware of
the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act which provides some legal protection for individuals who seek emergency help during an overdose. The hope is that the Act will help to reduce fear of police attending overdose events and encourage people to help save a life.
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NEW Opportunity to meet and collaborate with MCFD We are happy to let everyone know that school staff are able to participate in virtual student-focused meetings that MCFD/CYSN initiate through Microsoft Teams. If you are invited to a meeting, please follow
this link for instructions and you will be able to join without any downloading any additional software.
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Getting to school or managing a whole day at school can be really hard for some children and youth, and it can be challenging for parents and caregivers to know how best to move forward. In this 2-part webinar series, the presenters will talk about anxiety and related challenges that can be a barrier to attending school, as well as practical strategies to help things go more smoothly. These webinars are relevant whether your child is not getting to school at all or sometimes struggling to make it through the whole day. Below, you will find the recordings for all of these webinars, as well as the slides for each presentation. These webinars were held in November 2020.
This webinar series is a collaboration between BC Children's Hospital, the Vancouver School Board, and Vancouver Coastal
Health Child & Youth Mental Health.
For Parents: Elementary Students: High School Students:
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EASE- Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators is a collection of school-based, evidence-informed, anxiety management and resilience-building resources fo ruse by educators with B.C students in grades K-7. EASE helps educators teach students strategies to address the thoughts, feelings, and behaviours associated with anxiety, while also supporting social and emotional learning and mental health literacy of educators through a professional development course.
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| An 8 week online group
$80 for 8 sessions
Wednesdays February 10 - April 07
7-8 p:m
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| Parenting Teens? - Parents Together
Boys and Girls Club
Tuesday's 12:00-1:30 pm zoom
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Details: Sometimes parenting challenges can feel overwhelming. This program for parents of teens provides ongoing support. Manual and materials are provided to participants. Parents may stay in the group as long as they feel they need support and help in their daily parenting. Registration: Lisa Hoffman lhoffmanbgcvic.org /
250 217 4929 please include your contact information and when you can be reached.
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Attachment and relationship-based practices
Communication and 6 critical messages
Developmental changes in pre-adolescence
Adolescent brain development
Boundaries, and turning over responsibility as appropriate
Self-care – taking back your life
Adolescent mental health
Substance use and teens
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Details: Learning that your child is self-harming can be scary and overwhelming. Self-injury takes many forms and the reason why someone self-injures is complex. Hear from a young person with lived experience and a healthcare professional as they discuss what self-harm is, why youth self-injure, and other options for healthy coping strategies.
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Counsellor Consultation Process for Teacher-Counsellors: A committee with elementary, middle and secondary counsellor representation presented their proposal at the November 10th meeting. They listened to feedback and are making a few adjustments prior to submitting to District Administrator and Human Resources to finalize the posting for the position.
We are hoping to have the contract finalized in the next week or two.
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District Counselling Team Contact Info: Secondary District Counsellor: Jennifer Chambers jchambers@sd61.bc.ca
Middle District Counsellor: Monique Moore mmoore@sd61.bc.ca
Elementary District Counsellor: Maureen von Tigerstrom mvontigerstrom@sd61.bc.ca
Youth & Family District Counsellor: Jen Aston jaston@sd61.bc.ca
District Indigenous Counsellor Joanne Mitchell jomitchell@sd61.bc.ca
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Additional Members of the District Mental Health Team: District Behaviour Consultant: Dana Marchant dmarchant@sd61.bc.ca
District Principal: Pam Halverson phalverson@sd61.bc.ca
Associate Superintendent: Harold Caldwell hcaldwell@sd61.bc.ca
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Jennifer Chambers Secondary Supporting schools and families with students who have complex emotional, behavioural, mental health & Substance use needs
SBT support throughout year for Secondary teams
Tri District Collaboration with Community partners for student support (i.e. Discovery, CYMH, Police) and to develop consistent interventions (VTRA, CIRT, Pro D for counsellors)
Mental Health Safety plans
Integrated case management meetings
Collaboration with District levelled Teams (Secondary), Complex Problem Solving Team and District Support Teams
Collaborating and connecting with community agencies to support students
VTRA (Assessments and training), Safer Schools Co-cordinator
Principal Review Committee and Diversion for
Secondary
District based team meetings for Secondary (includes any referrals for Alternative Programs)
Collaborate and coordinate with middle/elementary district counsellor for counsellor collaborations and professional development (Refresher Series)
Monthly social emotional wellbeing snapshots for secondary school
Team and District Lead for CIRT including yearly training for staff
Spring Up to High School
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Monique Moore Middle
Supporting schools and families with students who have complex emotional, behavioural, and mental health needs
SBT support throughout year for Middle teams
Student observation and creation of student support plans to guide programming needs
Mental Health Safety plans
Integrated case management meetings
Collaboration with District levelled Teams (Middle), Complex Problem Solving Team and District Support Teams
Collaborating and connecting with community agencies to support students
VTRA
Principal Review Committee - Middle
District based team meetings for middle, and grade 9 (grade 9 DBT’s include any transitions to Alternative programs)
Collaborate and coordinate with district counsellors for Counsellor Collaborations and
professional development
Monthly social emotional wellbeing snapshots for middle school
Staff professional development in Mental Health Literacy as well as CPI
Member of District CIRT
Spring Up to High School
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Maureen von Tigerstrom
Elementary Supporting schools and families with students who have complex emotional, behavioural, and mental health needs
SBT support throughout year for Elementary teams
Student observation and creation of student support plans to guide programming needs
Mental Health Safety plans
Integrated case management meetings
Collaboration with District levelled Teams (Elementar), Complex Problem Solving Team and District Support Teams
Collaborating and connecting with community agencies to support students
VTRA
Principal Review Committee - Elementary
District based team meetings for elementary
Collaborate and coordinate with district counsellors for Counsellor Collaborations and professional
development
Monthly social emotional wellbeing snapshots for elementary school
Staff professional development in Second Step (SEL)
Member of District CIRT
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| Jen Aston
District Youth and Family Counsellor
Supporting schools and families with students who have complex emotional, behavioural, mental health and substance use needs.
Youth and Family support for schools without a school- based YFC counsellor.
District Team for supporting Children in Care Plans and partnership with Ministry of Children and Families.
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District lead for facilitation of Y Teen Mindfulness Training for Counsellors and teachers.
Counselling support for youth and families not currently connected to a school or who didn't "land" through DBT processes.
Co-facillitation of annual Connect Parent Group for parents of secondary students who have accessed District Based Team Supports.
Individualized transition plans for students moving from elementary to middle or middle to Secondary School.
| Integrated case management meetings
Collaborating and connecting with community agencies to support students
Collaboration with District levelled Teams (Elementary, Middle and Secondary), Complex Solving Team and District Support Teams
District Team supporting Social Emotional Wellness Advocates in Schools through professional development and ongoing support
Spring up to High School
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Joanne Mitchell District Indigenous Counsellor
As District Indigenous Counsellor, Joanne is passionate about incorporating authentic learning about Indigenous issues into our schools. She feels it is important to understand a full spectrum of Indigenous perspectives: the history of Indigenous dispossession and trauma; the strength and resiliency of the culture; and, to present the beauty and intricacies of Indigenous worldview. With other members of her team, she strives to wrap our children in the protection of cultural strength and identity, and inform a new generation of learners about the importance of Truth and Reconciliation. The Indigenous team is here to create a vision for our district to move towards reconciliation by providing guidance and support to public educators to seek out authentic voices, unpack colonial theories, and find the confidence to move
forward in our vision where reconciliation can be felt both personally and professionally
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