Return to School During COVID-19: Mental Health & Well-Being Resources
We know that the return to school this year brings a new time of uncertainty, even as our schools do their utmost to ensure the health and well-being of our students, families and staff. Our evolving understanding of the COVID-19 virus, significant alterations to classroom routines and structures, and the need for masks and socially distanced interactions with others, can be stressful. The mental health and well-being of all our students, families and staff is our priority as we enter this unprecedented time. The following resources may be helpful in navigating through these unprecedented times with your family.
We do not have a well-travelled road map for this situation. We will get through this time with caring, maintaining a sense of community, and common sense. We call on our faith to sustain us and to help calm our troubled minds and hearts. We will do this together.
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IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS:
 Text to CONNECT 686868 or Call 1-800-668-6868
Local Resources
Crisis and Intake Team (CIT)
Ages 0-18: Call 519-433-0334
 Ages 16+: Call 519-433-2023 or 1-866-933-2023
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There has been no more important a time to talk openly about mental health and well-being than now – as we all navigate the stress and uncertainty of COVID restrictions and remote learning for most of our children.
The 'placemat' below includes a wide range of activities intended for the promotion of well-being for ALL, for personal or professional use, at school or at home, individually or with your family, no matter what your age! If you can’t use them this week, keep them for future reference!
Just for Students
COVID19 Youth Mental Health Resource Hub
Jack.org, School Mental Health Ontario and Kids Help Phone
Jack.org, School Mental Health Ontario and Kids Help Phone have partnered to bring you all the information needed in one easy-to-access hub so that youth can access the education, tools, support and reliable information you need. Take care of yourself, and each other.
School Mental Health Ontario
A Tip Sheet with small actions you can do to take care of yourself during these challenging times.
School Mental Health Ontario
Practical information to support you when you are seeking help: showcases different ways to start the conversation with a trusted person and what to expect after reaching out.
)The Child Mind Institute
Many parents are wondering how to bring up the COVID-19 pandemic in a way that will be reassuring and not make kids more worried than they already may be. Here is some advice from the experts at the Child Mind Institute.
Youtube
Short youtube video (47 seconds) teaching young children about germs and the power of handwashing!
The National Association of School Psychologists
It is very important to remember that children look to adults for guidance on how to react to stressful events. If parents seem overly worried, children’s anxiety may rise. Parents should reassure children that health and school officials are working hard to ensure that people in all our communities stay healthy.
Coronavirus: A Book for Children
NosyCrow.com
Alex Scheffler has illustrated a digital book for primary school age children, free for anyone to read on screen or print out, about the coronavirus and the measures taken to control it. Written by Nosy Crow staff, the book has had expert input from Professor Graham Medley of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as well as two head teachers and a child psychologist.
This comic for children was created by NPR to help children understand COVID-19, using interviews with Tara Powell at the University of Illinois School of Social Work, Joy Osofsky at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and Krystal Lewis at the National Institute of Mental Health.
Psychology Today
Even if children and teens don’t appear to be following COVID-19 news carefully, it is likely that they are absorbing the information and stress from adults, siblings, social media, and friends. You play an important role in helping children and teens better understand what’s happening and help them manage their own related worries or anxiety. Psychology Today offers tips for conversations with kids and teens at different developmental ages and stages
As schools close and workplaces go remote to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many parents and families are trying to figure out how to manage this new reality – everyone is together all day in the home. Here are tips from the Child Mind Institute’s clinicians to help calm fears, manage stress and keep the peace.
Adults can help by making sure adolescents don’t overestimate the dangers or underestimate their ability to protect themselves. People of all ages are concerned about the spread of the coronavirus, and teenagers, as a group, tend to experience emotions especially intensely. If you are raising, teaching or otherwise caring for an adolescent who is feeling very nervous about it, here are five things you can do.
From educational games to apps and websites, here are some creative ways to keep children entertained during school closures.
Research shows that just being in the presence of a compassionate, safe adult can help kids calm down. As families, we can be “that person” for each other. Here are some ideas about how to put this in action!