Healthy Minds in WSD schools

Students and staff in Winnipeg School Division create ways to maintain healthy minds and lifestyles for 2022 and beyond.

Bell Lets Talk day continues the conversations about mental health and wellbeing. WSD schools provide ongoing support, resources and community collaboration for all WSD students, teachers and staff.

Meaningful dialogue about mental wellbeing happens every day across WSD schools by providing the critical space needed to have these conversations, by embedding wellness strategies into our curriculum, providing resources and working collaboratively with community agencies, such as the Youth Hubs.

Fiona England is the Healthy Minds Specialist for WSD, she says schools have become the primary spaces for mental health and wellness conversations and providing resources and supports to our school communities given the extensive waitlist for mental health supports in the community given the impact of COVID 19 on mental health.

“We have opened up the dialogue across WSD schools to help destigmatize the conversations about our feelings by finding trusted adults, having mindfulness strategies in schools and using the resources provided. By embedding multiple practices together optimal health and wellbeing can be accomplished."

Healthy Minds is an initiative started in 2013 to encourage further conversations and practices towards positive mental health and wellness for students, staff and caregivers; while celebrating what schools are currently doing to help open the conversation.

The Healthy Minds initiative opens up a dialogue about mental health and wellness and provides opportunities to collaborate with many resources in Manitoba, that we can work together to support the needs of our students, staff and community.

Schools have become one of the primary supports of the school community, to embed pillars of wellness through culture and resource awareness.

Kids Help Phone is a key resource for students to learn about their own mental health and provides connections to community support.

One of the many resources WSD has is the Care for All in Education Resource. This is a support for everyone in education, including teachers, bus drivers and superintendents.

"This is a great opportunity to get strategies to help manage our anxiety, worry and feelings of depression. It's a place to get what you need; an app, a phone number, strategies, or exercises; it's all there,” said England.

We move forward, normalizing the day-to-day emotions and feelings that individuals have. 

For a more comprehensive list of all resources, check out the WSD website and for the Care for All in Education resources see their website.