St. Thérèse Students Learn Emotional Management from Experts
On Tuesday, April 9th, St. Thérèse of Lisieux Catholic Elementary School’s HAT (Health Action Team) welcomed the McMaster Children's Hospital Child and Youth Mental Health Outreach Program (CYMHP). Ms. Carmen (Clinical Leader of the Mental Health Program) and Ms. Vanessa Macedo (Development Officer) presented to our grade 7s and grade 8s about mental health and the programs offered by McMaster Children's Hospital and Ron Joyce.
Students and staff who participated in the event were given tools, strategies, and steps to work through their emotions, how to talk about difficult feelings, and what to do with them. Aligning with our Ontario Ministry of Education Physical Education and Health curriculum expectations around mental health, the team went on to share how to create Mindfulness Glitter Jars. These jars help to manage big emotions, and this is a skill that improves with practice.
"We all have lots of feelings – that's normal and okay. It's also okay to not be okay."
Ending the presentation, the STL HAT (Health Action Team) presented a cheque for over $1,000 to donate to the Outreach Program at McMaster. These donations were part of our HAT team's year plan for our Mental Health Friday in February, where items were sold to support our HAT's work towards Healthy Schools Certification and McMaster's Child and Youth Outreach Program.
The McMaster Outreach team described how they were going to use the donations to purchase a variety of supplies, therapeutic tools, and cover transportation costs for families over the next year. Mr. John Valvasori, our school board trustee, was also able to attend our presentation and meet "Bubbles" – the McMaster Hospital mascot. Our STL community was gifted with two "Bubbles" (soft plush turtles) to support our school community – staff and students.
We thank our St.Thérèse of Lisieux school community for their efforts and participation in our events this year, especially Mrs. Filinski – Child Youth Worker, Mrs. Cino - Principal, and Mrs. Standish - Vice Principal for their team leadership with our HAT team.
