November, 2015
Student Mental Health and Well-Being
Newsletter
Coping with Grief
As we reflect on those that have lost their
lives and engage in conversations about
Remembrance Day, it is important to
understand how children and teenagers
grieve and how we can support them.
Children and teenagers grieve differently
than adults and are described as “dipping”
in and out of their grief. They tend to show
intense sadness for brief periods of time and
then switch to behaving as if nothing is
wrong. This is a built in mechanism that
prevents children from being overwhelmed
by powerful feelings and allows them to
cope with their grief at a slower pace.
Children and teenagers may have difficulty
expressing their feelings and thoughts and
may behave by acting out, engaging in risk
taking behavior, or have physical
complaints, such as stomachaches,
headaches or have trouble eating or
sleeping. They may also substitute feelings
that they can handle for feelings that they
cannot. This may appear as though they are
uncaring, but it is a protective mechanism
that prevents them from feeling emotionally
overloaded. Adults can help children and
teenagers by acknowledging what they may
be thinking, validating their feelings and
compassionately responding to their
behavior. This can be done by:

Talking to children and teenagers
November is a month of remembrance.
Let’s take time to celebrate the lives of our
loved ones and remember the sacrifices
made by those who bravely served our
country.
openly and directly about death and
at the child’s developmental level

Using books, drawing a picture,
writing in a journal, or role playing
to help children and teenagers to
understand death

Encourage children and teenagers to
talk about their feelings. As well,
accept their apparent lack of feelings
as a normal response. It is helpful to
say, “you may feel nothing at all
right now, or you may feel very
upset – whatever you feel is okay
and you can talk to me anytime.”
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It is helpful to understand the needs
that underlie a child’s/teenagers
acting out or risk taking behavior
while at the same time setting
appropriate limits. They may be
communicating their need to be
reassured or comforted. Talking
about their feelings and validating
their anger will help them to be
more open to express their
emotions.
(Information obtained from Child Bereavement
UK and Bereaved Families of Toronto)
;
November, 2015
Building Resilience
Resilience is “the ability to
adapt to difficult or stressful
events in our lives and to
succeed despite adversity. It
is also referred to as the
ability to “bounce back”.
We all experience difficult
situations in our lives and
it’s important to learn to
face these challenges
successfully in order to
decrease any long term
effects. We can help
children and teenagers to
become more resilient by:
Optimistic Thinking :
Model positive thinking and
attitudes by “thinking out
loud positively”. By
modeling your positive
thoughts and having a “can
do” approach it will help
foster optimism in students.
Positive attitudes such as
encouraging oneself to try,
perseverance, and applying
a problem solving approach
are all ways of modeling
positive thinking and
attitudes.
Positive Emotions:
Emotions such as love and
gratitude increase resiliency
because they act as a
“buffer” against depression.
Children and teenagers who
are loved and supported
learn to express positive
emotions. In order to foster
positive relationships with
students it is helpful to
praise more than criticize.
In a school setting, it is also
important that every student
has an adult whom they can
trust.
Promote Prosocial
Behaviour: Students
develop resiliency by
helping others. Create
opportunities for students to
participate in clubs and
programs that promote
helping, sharing, and
treating others with respect
eg. Violence prevention,
antibullying, and Stop The
Stigma programs. Invite a
guest speaker to speak with
staff and parents about
how to build resiliency
Foster Feelings of
Competency: Students
who achieve academic
success and develop
personal talents feel more
competent and are able to
deal with stress more
positively. This can be
done by treating students
as collaborators in the
learning process, providing
consistent, clear
expectations, and teaching
good study skills.
(Information obtained from
Virginia Smith Harvey)
Mental Health Initiatives 2015-16

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TCDSB Mental Health
and Well-Being
Strategy 2015-18 to be
released soon
Support for schools in
developing a mentally
healthy classroom. See
Supporting Minds on
the Ministry’s website
and edugains.ca
Building partnerships
with community
agencies, families, and
parishes

SAFE TALK suicide
awareness workshops
for staff available via
PAL

Secondary Schools’
Stop The Stigma
Symposium Dec.1st
;
November, 2015
Remembrance Day
On Remembrance Day we honour the
men and women who served Canada. We
reflect on the sacrifices of those who have
died so that we may have freedom and
peace. Encouraging discussions and
participating in activities about
Remembrance Day encourages students
to become “socially minded” and fosters
feelings of empathy. Students can say
“thank you” in many way:
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Engaging in creative writing about
Remembrance Day
Using social media to spread the
word about commemorative events
at your school. Using the mobile
app “Veterans Matter”
Invite a Veteran or a Canadian
Armed Forces member as a guest
speaker
As a class watch online interviews
with Veterans in “Heroes
Remember” (a searchable
database)
Read the poem “In Flanders Field”
by Lieutenant Colonel John
McCrae
Write the troops and let your
Canadian Armed Forces members
know you appreciate them
Wear a poppy
Create a Remembrance Wall
where students can write down
thank you notes to Armed Forces
or a special memory of someone
they lost or miss in their lives.
Did you know…..
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November 11th is the day that
World War I ended. It is also
known as Armistice Day
An Armistice was signed at the
end of World War I at 11:00am
on November 11, 1918.
The peace treaty that ended
World War I is the Treaty of
Versailles and it was signed in
1919
Poppies are a symbol of World
War I because they grew in
some of the places where battles
were fought
Poppies are sold by the Royal
British Legion to raise money to
support people in the armed
forces
For further information and a teaching
guide for Remembrance Day visit the
Royal Canadian Legion website at:
www.veterans.gc.ca
www.legion.ca
Even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear
no evil, for You are with me; Your
rod and Your staff, they comfort
me.” Psalm 24:4
;
November, 2015
Suggested Readings and Websites:
Fostering The Family:
The TCDSB Pastoral Plan
2015-18 “ Together With one
Voice: Harmonizing Our Faith
Through Family , Parish, and
School” 2015 focuses on the
FAMILY
As a family we can honour the
memory of loved ones by:
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Sharing special memories
Praying together
Continuing family
traditions
Books
Jason and the Memory Box by Shelley Fiset
Explaining Death to Children by Earl Grollman
Resiliency: Strategies for Parents and Educators
by Virginia Smith Harvey
A Great Attitude by Sandi Hill
When I Feel Good About Myself by Cornelia
Maude Spelman
Websites
National Association of School Psychologists:
www.nasponline.org
www.childbereavementuk.org
bfotoronto.ca
www.raisingresilientkids.com
www.parentbooks.ca
A Smile A Day…
Did you know that your
smile is a powerful tool!
Most people think that we
smile because we feel
happy, but it can go the
other way as well: we feel
happy because we smile.
So go ahead….smile!
Alex Korb, Psychology Today
Patricia Marra-Stapleton, Psychological Associate/Mental Health Lead
patricia.marra-stapleton@tcdsb.org
Marci Buhagiar, Psychological Associate: marci.buhagiar@tcdsb.org
A special thank you to Sandra Figliomeni, Principal St Barnabus for her contributions