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The Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition wants to express our feelings of shock, anger and grief following the news report last Friday on the discovery of a mass grave of 215 children at the former residential school in Kamloops, British Columbia. Residential schooling deprived many Indigenous people of their dignity and humanity. 
 
This tragic news is a devastating reminder of our collective responsibility to address the ongoing trauma that Indigenous people face through a decolonizing approach and the disruption of harmful colonial narratives. These realities have caused intergenerational trauma and cascading consequences such as loss of culture and language, mental health challenges, problematic substance misuse, violence, and suicide.
 
We must continue the work identified in the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. Through our promotion of comprehensive healthy schools, we hope to do better by creating a more inclusive view of health and healing that is culturally relevant and affirming for our Indigenous partners in our school communities across this province and Canada.

​Resources for Support
Hope for Wellness Help Line provides immediate mental health counselling and crisis intervention to all indigenous peoples in English, French, Cree, Ojibway or Inuktitut upon request. 
1-855-242-3310
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The Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) offers a 24-hour Mental Health and Addictions Crisis Line with culturally specific mental health and addiction supports for adults, youth, and families in Ontario in both English and French, please call: 1-877-767-7572

​Native Child and Family Services of Toronto
Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres
Talk 4 Healing Helpline providing support, help and resources for Indigenous women in Ontario.
Anishnawbe Toronto provides mental health counseling and traditional counseling that provides support which considers the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical needs of every individual.

CAMH Aboriginal Service – The Aboriginal Service provides outpatient groups and individual counselling to Aboriginal people experiencing substance use and other mental health challenges.

Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program
​The IRSRHSP has a National Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line 1-866-925-4419 that provides immediate emotional support for former Indian Residential School students. 
​ Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Healthy Schools Resources 
School Public Health Nurses and COVID-19: Role Clarification ResourceAs part of the Government of Ontario’s plan to prioritize the health and safety of students and staff, funds were committed to hire up to 625 additional school-focused nurses in public health units (PHUs) to provide rapid-response support to school boards and schools in facilitating public health and preventative measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To help clarify the role and scope of supports that the School Public Health Nurses (PHNs) provide, a Role Clarification Resource was developed by a working group of the Education Sector.
 
The contents of this resource include:
  • School Public Health Nurse Socio-Ecological Model
  • Nursing Supports for School Communities
  • Role of the School PHN: COVID-19 Response
  • Role of the School PHN: School Health (General)
  • Other Public Health Supports for Schools




NCCDH and Health Promotion Canada
Webinar: Moving health promotion forward as an accredited discipline
To View the Webinar click here
​This webinar will explore the options for an accreditation system for health promotion practitioners in Canada and how this action can support working towards health equity.

Speakers on this webinar: 
  • describe international health promotion accreditation processes and credentialing systems;
  • explore options for health promotion accreditation in Canada; and
  • discuss the role of health promotion accreditation to strengthen the ability to focus on socioecological determinants, social justice and health equity.
 
 Every School Healthy is a special open access issue of the Journal of School Health, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). With fourteen invited articles and two commentaries, the issue offers a comprehensive picture of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) framework in action as a tool for equity in promoting healthy school environments for students.

The articles explore:
  • the dynamics in a broad array of schools and communities that foster or stand in the way of creating healthier school environments;
  • the policy levers available to promote change at the local, state and federal levels; and
  • opportunities to build public and political will to improve students' overall health and well-being in schools.
 LINK: Access the Special Issue
 2020 has been a year of rapid change as many schools moved to providing virtual instruction in the spring. The intertwined issues of education and health equity have gained greater visibility and urgency. In order to provide an introduction to the lessons learned included in the special issue, ASHA is offering two webinars featuring a number of the authors. The presenters will share how their learnings can be applied and contribute to making every school healthy whether learning occurs in person, virtually, or in a hybrid form.
  1. December 14, 2020 — Every School Healthy: Equity in Education in a Public Health Crisis
  2. January 11, 2020 — Every School Healthy: WSCC Policies in Support of Equity in Education
In each of these webinars, authors, joined by the guest-editors, and a representative of the RWJF will discuss how the published work and our experiences of the past and present school years can shape our work to create Every School Healthy moving forward.
​A report from the IUHPE explores the potential development of an accreditation system and how it could "support capacity building and increase the level of expertise of the Canadian health promotion workforce."    Read the full report .... 
International Union for Health Promotion and Education ( IUHPE) 

Advancing Health Promotion in Canada 
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​The Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition (OHSC) is an Ontario-wide, broad-based coalition, with volunteer members from health, education, social services, not for profit organizations, small businesses, and parent and student organizations.

Vision: Every child and young person in Ontario will be educated in a healthy school.[1]
 
Mission:  In partnership with key stakeholders who are committed to promoting the health and learning of the children and youth of Ontario, the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition( OHSC)  works to:

  • raise awareness of the benefits and need for healthy schools
  • build the knowledge base and capacity for implementation of a healthy schools approach
  • promote inter-ministerial coordination to support healthy schools
  • influence policy development and the provision of adequate public funding for healthy schools
  • provide a forum to share healthy schools initiatives and best practices across health, education and related sectors.
 
Membership: Membership is open to all individuals and organizations committed to promoting healthy schools in Ontario. This is an evolving group. We will continue to welcome any interested individuals or organizations who wish to support our vision, mission and values.  The OHSC was formed in December 2000.

[1] A healthy school is one that promotes the physical, mental, social and spiritual health of the whole school community.  It constantly strengthens its capacity as a healthy setting for living, learning and working. See the document “Definition of a Healthy School and a Healthy Schools Approach” for further elaboration of this concept.

​We are pleased to let you know that we have optimistically re-scheduled the annual conference for:

March 1st & March 2nd 2022 Delta Hotel in London, ON.

​Those who have paid registration fee for 2020  conference have been credited to the upcoming conference – so you are already paid to attend!

We, like you, are looking forward to returning to the creative and interactive in-person gatherings when safe to do so.
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All existing conference registrations, including the hotel accommodations, will be automatically transferred to the new conference date.
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The Global Recess Alliance
A newly formed group of scholars, health professionals, and education leaders, argues that attention to recess during school reopening is essential. Recess is the only unstructured time in the school day that provides space for children’s physical, social and emotional development, which are essential for well-being and learning. When schools reopen, children will need space to heal from their collective trauma. 

Recess Planning for School Re-opening
Dr. Lauren McNamara, a member of the Ontario Healthy Schools Coalition, is a key figure in the development of the Global Recess Alliance. This recently formed group of scholars, health professionals, and education leaders, argues that attention to recess during school reopening is essential. Recess is the only unstructured time in the school day that provides space for children’s physical, social and emotional development, which are essential for well-being and learning. When schools reopen, children will need space to heal from their collective trauma. 
Lauren and others have shared their expertise to provide answers and concrete strategies for a recess that not only works under the current circumstances, but paves the way for a fundamental shift in the way schools approach recess.

Read and share ...  Statement on Recess
​Learn More: Kids will need recess more than ever ​...

Children Count Pilot Study... The purpose was to look at the feasibility of coordinated monitoring and assessment of child and youth health to address local data gaps that meet the needs of boards of education and local public health units.

Supporting student achievement and improving overall quality of life for children and youth is a priority shared across multiple sectors, including health and education. In 2017, the Children Count Pilot Study Project Team set out to explore the feasibility of coordinated monitoring and assessment of child and youth health, utilizing the school climate survey, to address local health data gaps. Six school board and public health unit pairings piloted the Healthy Living Module as part of the school board’s school climate survey in the 2018/19 academic year  Read the Study ....
Enabling children and youth to reach their full potential, achieve academic success, and improve their overall quality of life, is a priority shared across multiple sectors, including health and education.

​This toolkit is organized into 8 sections. Each section includes tools to support your partnership, SCS/ HLM implementation and analysis, and data use. While this toolkit may be useful to various stakeholders in the community, the tools and resources in this toolkit are designed for education professionals and school boards as the primary audience.  Link to the ToolKit ....
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