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 | October As we are now immersed in the daily work of supporting our students and families, a reminder to engage in self-care practices throughout your days and weeks. Our first counsellor collaboration of the year is October 4 and this is a valuable opportunity to take the time to connect with your colleagues, have a coffee, consult on current challenges, and engage in professional learning. We hope to see you there!
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One of our goals with our District Teams is to focus on Supporting School Based Teams, and aligning aspects of our support for Learning Support Teachers and Counsellors. Our theme for this school year is "Healthy Relationships through a Trauma Sensitive Lens." The next SBT meeting will be on October 19 in the Tolmie Boardroom from 9:00-11:00.
Our Counsellor meetings offer an opportunity for connection, professional development, and consult and collaboration around individual students and work. We value this time to connect and have received your feedback about which resources and community agencies you would like to hear more from.
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Tuesday, October 4 9-11 am
In Person Location: Tolmie Boardroom | Thursday, November 17
1-3 pm Virtual
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Wednesday, January 18
1-3pm In Person Location: Tolmie Boardroom | Wednesday, March 1 1-3 pm Virtual
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Thursday, April 13 9-11 am
In Person Location: Tolmie Boardroom | Tuesday, May 30 1-3 pm
Virtual
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 | Updated in 2021. The Executive of the BCSCA recognized the need for an updated resource that would serve to inform school counselling roles and practices within the province, and which could serve as a quick reference guide to many of the resources that are regularly used by school counsellors. Note: School districts in BC hold the final decision regarding standards and practices of counselling in schools.
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| Learn to shine bright- the importance of self care for teachers. | Kelly Hopkinson Self-care is proving to be difficult to master and weave into our teachers frantic lives. As human beings we must prioritise our own well-being and as teachers as well we can begin to place the same emphasis on staff well-being in our schools as we do for the mental health of the children we teach. Self-care starts with you and small acts every single day. Imagine connecting to and feeling the magic you work so hard to create in the classroom and in your life. Imagine the impact on those around you and your own happiness levels. You are exquisite and far too important not to take care.
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School wide Assessment and Growth Plan Toolkit for Well-being and SEL The Schoolwide Assessment and Growth Plan Toolkit is one of a number of resources on the wellbeingbc.ca website. The toolkit includes a suite of tools to support school teams in assessing areas of strength and improvement around social emotional learning and well-being along with links to useful resources to assist in growth planning. This video spotlight features one of the creators of the toolkit, Jenny Williams, along with a school principal, Grace Lo-Voo, sharing their experiences both creating the toolkit as well as implementing the toolkit in a school.
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Introduction, Planning, Implementing, and Collaborating Supporting our colleagues and students with social emotional learning and mental health literacy provides a strong foundation both individually and collectively.
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| Middle and Secondary Teams Middle and Secondary teams have had various learning opportunities with Mental Health Literacy and the district team over the last several years. Please stay tuned for upcoming opportunities and reach out to Monique Moore and Tanya Ross if you have implementation questions.
https://mentalhealthliteracy.org/
https://pdce.educ.ubc.ca/teach-mental-health-literacy/
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'Second Step' Social Emotional Learning K-8
The Second Step Digital Program is accessible for every elementary and middle school in SD61. Stay tuned for any upcoming implementation sessions and in the meantime please reach out to Monique Moore and Maureen Von Tigerstrom if you have any implementation questions.
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| A wealth of recommended resources for substance use education K-12 are available on this page. Autonomy, Belonging and Competencies are important protective factors that promote youth wellbeing and positive mental health. The ABCs increase resilience and prevent, delay and reduce substance-related harms.
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ABC - Educational Resources for Substance Use Education
The ABCs of Youth Substance Use is an initiative to promote evidence-based approaches to youth substance-use education in BC schools. Autonomy, Belonging and Competencies are important protective factors that promote youth wellbeing and prevent, delay and reduce substance-related harms.
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| Kelty Mental Health Substance Use: Talking alcohol, vaping & other drugs with your kids A podcast for parents. Michelle and Bryn sit down with Cindy Andrew and Art Steinmann, both parents and professionals with 30+ years of experience working in the field of youth substance use within BC schools and communities, to discuss how to talk about substance use with your child, how to prevent problematic substance use, and how you can help your child develop the knowledge and skills they will need to make decisions about vaping, alcohol and other drugs as they grow.
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| The BC Children‘s Health Promotion team
and Kelty Mental Health Resource Centre
offer a variety of free services, supports and
resources specifically for school communities.
Our teams can assist professionals working to
support the mental health and well-being of
children, youth and families in BC schools.
Support with school mental health promotion
planning and implementation
Resources and support for parents and
caregivers
Support for school counsellors who are
providing mental health and substance use
care to students.
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| Family Smart Events
Monthly Online Events for Parents & Caregivers. Join us to watch a video by an expert speaker and talk with other families about what helps. Online events are facilitated by FamilySmart Parent Peer Support Workers. Fall Event Topics:
October - Building Connection With Our Kids When It Feels Impossible.
November - It's Never Too Late: Healing Parent-Child Relational Stress Using Emotion-Focused Family Therapy.
December - ADHD - The Real Deal.
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| Family Smart - Parent Workshops
Building Connection with Our Kids When It Feels Impossible: Join us as we listen to FamilySmart’s Parent Peer Support Workers Tammy and Diane have an honest conversation about what it is like as a parent or caregiver who is struggling to connect with their kids. They will share strategies to build, and rebuild, connections even when it is complex. Come together with other families to watch this one hour video presentation followed by a 30 minute facilitated discussion by a FamilySmart Parent Peer Support Worker.
Event Date(s):
Monday, October 3 at 6:30pm
Tuesday, October 11 at 5:00pm
Wednesday, October 19 at 12:00pm
Tuesday, October 25 at 6:30pm
Thursday, October 27 at 5:00pm
Registration required: www.familysmart.ca/events
Cost: Free of Charge
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More Family Smart Parent Workshops
Help For The Hard Times Workshops: These run every month for parents and caregivers whose children have been at the ER or have had a hospital stay for mental health or substance use issues.
Details for 1-hour Workshops:
Session 1: How to support a safety plan at home (Part 1)
Session 2: How to support a safety plan at home (Part 2)
Session 3: How to take care of yourself and your family after a crisis
Session 4: How to find the resources you need
Dates & Times:
October 24 & 26 from 4-6pm
November 7, 9, 14, 16, 2022 from 12-1pm
For more information and registration please visit: www.familysmart.ca/workshops
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| Stigma Free Society - Student Mental Health Toolkit
An engaging online website for promoting mental wellness education to youth while providing resources for educators, school counsellors, and parents/guardians.
Here is the link to the website:
https://studentmentalhealthtoolkit.com
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| BC Children's Kelty Mental Health - Back to School: How To Promote Resilience and Set Your Kids Up For Success- Webinar Recording Guided by research in social and emotional development and resilience, this webinar offers caregivers of elementary-aged children useful information and practical strategies for supporting their own and their children's emotional resilience, that can set the stage for success and well-being in the new school year.
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BC Children's Kelty Mental Health - School Anxiety & Attendance Challenges Webinar Series Watch this webinar series to learn about anxiety and related challenges that can be a barrier to attending school, as well as practical strategies for parents and caregivers to help things go more smoothly. Helpful resource to share with staff and families.
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| BC School Counsellors Association 2022 BC School Counsellors Conference Pre-Conference & Social on Thursday, October 20, 2022 (In-Person)
Pinnacle Hotel HARBOURFRONT
1133 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
V6E 3T3
Canada
https://www.pinnacleharbourfronthotel.com/
Conference on October 21. 2022 (Online)
Zoom
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CIRT REFRESHER - November 2 This is an opportunity for school based CIRT teams to connect with two District team CIRT staff to review the process of a CIRT response when a critical incident takes place within our school community. | VTRA REFRESHER - November 9 Violent Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) is a comprehensive process to assess the level of threat and determine appropriate interventions. This session will review the protocol and purpose behind this important work when concerning behaviour profiles in our youth.
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Upcoming opportunities
Lindsay Johnson, Kevin Blecic, and Bonnie Alexander are always eager to collaborate and work together to connect students to opportunities. Please reach out with requests and ideas you may have for a classroom, school, or individual student.
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District Mental Health Team Our work focusses on supporting schools and families with students who present with complex profiles that may include emotional, behavioural, mental health, and substance use concerns. We collaborate with district levelled teams and school teams for the purpose of complex problem solving and integrating supports. This also includes collaboration with community agencies (i.e Discovery, CYMH, Police) to develop consistent interventions to offer increased wrap around support to the students and families that we serve. Professional learning opportunities, snapshots, and newsletters are created to promote ongoing education and resource sharing with colleagues, students, and families. Additional work includes VTRA (Violent Threat Risk Assessment) and CIRT (Critical Incident Response Team) response when these needs arise in our school community.
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District Counselling Team Contact Info: 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
Indigenous District Counsellors
Secondary Joanne Mitchell jomitchell@sd61.bc.ca
Middle David Davidson ddavidson@sd61.bc.ca
Elementary
Pam Russ pruss@sd61.bc.ca
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Additional Members of the District Mental Health Team: District Principal: Pam Halverson phalverson@sd61.bc.ca
Deputy Superintendent: Harold Caldwell hcaldwell@sd61.bc.ca
Mental Health Resource Coordinator: Marnice Jones mjones@sd61.bc.ca
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