Hunger Pangs: Addressing Food Insecurity in Schools
This past summer, the Wyoming Valley West School District in Pennsylvania sent home an alarming letter to parents. If they didn’t pay off their kids’ school lunch debt ...
Mental Health & Well-being
Encouraging Positive Mental Health Discussions
Students want to talk about their mental health. In 2015, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) reported that one-third of Ontario students in Grades 7 through 12 ...
Help Students Manage Test Anxiety
Tests and exams cause anxiety in teachers and students. The growing frequency of standardized tests and ongoing reports about ongoing mental-health issues among children and ...
Lunch Police: Should Educators Get Involved?
A grade two student shows up to school with dried cereal for lunch. She seems a bit lethargic, though she gobbles the cereal up. She is otherwise happy and doing well ...
Stress: Coping Techniques and How to Use Them
Mid-word, mid-lesson, you notice Richard is on his phone looking up memes and Matt’s eyes are drooping. The students aren’t learning. You also have report card comments to ...
How To Save Your Voice: Vocal Hygiene for Teachers
You’ve probably experienced some bouts of hoarseness, whether you’ve corralled a group of students on a field trip or experienced a scratchy throat during cold season. But ...
Bathrooms and Blackboards: Helping Students with IBD
School is a part of every child’s life. During their academic years, students deal with so many different facets of growth and development—physical, cognitive, emotional, and ...
Managing an Allergy-Free Classroom
For most students, a water fountain can give refreshment. But for those with life-threatening food allergies, it could be a site of cross-contamination. “Everything is a ...
The New Health Curriculum: More Than Just Sex
For the first time in almost 20 years, Ontario’s health curriculum has received a major overhaul. Although some parent and religious groups have mounted protests, Ontario’s ...
Helping Students Learn Through Grief
Teachers are often first responders to tragedy. They work with students who are experiencing individual loss. Students may ask teachers about large-scale crises, like natural ...